The Puppeteer Alchemist!
by MultiPandaBears
Summary: Just before Asura is destroyed by Maka, he sends the whole gang to Resembool, unable to get back. 10 years later, Maka and Soul have a daughter named Azalea Eater Albarn. After a horrific chain of event due to a familiar green-haired homunculus, Azalea & her cousin Nikolai decide to become State.. Assassins? EdxOC, CharacterDeath. Bad summary, herpaderp.
1. The Puppeteer Alchemist Prologue 1

"Mama, Mama, I did it! I did it!" I half-yelled, waving my right arm in the air. "I made my arm into a knife-thingy just like you, see? Mama?" I stared up at my Mama, who had dropped her glass mug on the front porch, breaking it. She looked at me terrified.

"Azalea Eater Evans!" My Mother yelled, grabbing my arm and dragging me inside. She sat me down on the couch and called my Daddy downstairs. A few minute later, he trudged down in a white t-shirt and red boxers. He'd obviously just been woken up by Mama. "Look at this, Soul. Look at what she can do!" Daddy glanced down at my arm and was dumbfounded.

"A-Azalea? How did you do that!" Daddy said, rushing up to me and sitting down next to me. I looked down guiltily.

"W-Well, I saw Mama do it once, a-and I wanted to do it. I don't know how I did it, Daddy! I just thought about it and this happened!" I answered as I held up my arm. Mama and daddy looked at each oher knowingly.

"Honey?" Daddy asked.

"Yeah?"

"You can't do this in front of other people, 'Kay?" I nodded "Only us. I'll teach you how to do it, so that you'll have something else to do besides sticking you nose into alchemy books," Daddy chuckled. "Now, do you know how to get rid of it?" I shook my head. "Okay, all you have to do is concentrate on it going away, and think about what your arm usually looks like. That's how I did it."

"Woah! You can do it too, Daddy?" He nodded. I smiled as I closed my eyes, then thought about my flesh arms, how they were slightly tanned from being outside for so long, and how my nails were painted green, and they matched my eyes. I then felt a tingling in my right arm. I got scared so I opened my eyes, just to see that they were back to normal.

"YAY! Mama, Daddy, I did it!" I laughed while my parents smiled. "Mama, Daddy?" Mama answered first.

"Yes darling?" I fidgeted for a moment.

"Um, I was wondering if, maybe, you could...-thingy?"

"Huh?" I sighed.

"I was wondering if you could teach me how to fight with alchemy and my knife arm thing." I looked up at her with puppy-dog eyes. '**I hope Uncle Kid and Aunt Tsubaki can teach me too!' **Mom scratched her head.

"Well, I can't help you with Alchemy, because we both suck at it. But, we can teach you all that we know about fighting. But we will only teach you if you promise us you will never use your special abilities unless you are in a very bad situation. I nodded my head with a determined glint in my eyes. Even though I was only eight at the time, I had a great vocabulary from all the books I had read, just like Mama. "Good. Well, I guess your Daddy can teach you all he knows first, then I will, 'cause i'm way more advanced then him, so..."

"HEY!" Daddy screamed shaking his fist around. I laughed, clutching my stomach. After my short giggling fit, Daddy went back upstairs to change into normal clothes. He chose to wear a plain red t-shirt and jeans. When he came back he led me outside to train.

"First, I want to tell you one thing. The weapon that appears on your arm is not a knife, but a scythe. You got it?" I nodded as he continued. "Okay, now that that's covered, I want you to concentrate on bringing your scythe back to your right arm."

"Okie Dokie!" I said cheerfully. I glared at my arm with all my might, and thought back to when I summoned my scythe arm and remember all of the details. I then realized it looked just like Mama's, except while hers had black, mine had dark blue. Soon enough, a flash of light appeared on my arm, and in it's place, the scythe was there. I grinned smugly as Daddy smiled and clapped for me.

"Good job! Now turn it back." Daddy bluntly said. I stuck out my bottom lip and did as I was told. When my arm was back to normal, he made me turn it back into a scythe. We continued that for about thirty minutes, and my arm ached. I was about to keep on changing it back and forth, but Daddy stopped me.

"Oh! You can stop now!" I glared at him.

"You weren't paying attention, were you!" I yelled, waving my arms up in the air.

"Well, you sure get your temper from your Mom," he mumbled to himself. "Ah, I have to tell you stuff, about why you have that arm, don't I?" I nodded, my arms crossed. I was still mad.

"Well, where me and your Mom come from, there's this school, called Death Weapon Meister Academy, AKA DWMA. That's no normal school, you see. At this school, there's two different types of people. Meisters are people with exceptional soul wavelengths (A soul wavelength is the rhythm of someones soul) and are paired with certain Death Weapons. I'll tell you about them later. Each Meister has a rank, and there are three different ranks, one-star, two-star, and three-star, with the one-stars being the lowest and the third-stars being the highest. Now, Demon Weapons are people who can change into a weapon. At DWMA, Death Weapons are paired up with Meisters. But a Death Weapon can't just partner up with any old Meister, they're soul wavelengths have to match. If they don't match, nothing will happen and the Meister probably will hardly be able to even pick up the Death Weapon. " I interrupted him by raising my hand as if I was in school. "Yes?"

"Does that mean I'm a weapon?" Daddy shrugged.

"Maybe, your Mother is a Meister, but she can still activate her Death Weapon, but she's the only one known to be able to do that, but since your her daughter, maybe you're both, since I'm a Death Weapon. Your Mother and I were partners, back in the day." he answered. "Now, as I was saying, do you know _why_ we needed to have weapons and stuff and what they were for?" I shook my head. "To hunt Kishin," Daddy said bluntly. "Kishin are corrupted souls. Their souls become corrupted when they eat human souls. Gross, huh? Some are crazy strong, and some are just plain weak. Once a Kishin is destroyed, us Death Weapons get to eat their _sooouuuullsss_..." Daddy said in a creepy voice as he wriggled his fingers.

"Dad!" I said annoyed as he messed up my hair.

"Aw, you act so grown up sometimes!" I smirked. "Okay, okay, I'm almost finished, one more thing. After a Death Weapon eats ninety-nine Kishin souls, and one Witch soul, that person becomes a Death Scythe. Okay, I'm done," Daddy says, falling backwards onto the grass as he mumbles to himself, "That long explanation was so uncool..." Daddy then chuckled to himself.

"Daddy?" I ask, crawling over to him, my arm back to normal.

"Yeah?"

"Where is Death Weapon Meister Academy? I wanna go there!" I said cheerfully. Daddy cringed and sighed.

"Far, far away. No one here can go there."

"Why Daddy? Can't we just pack up our thing and go there?" He shook his head.

"I think I should tell you something, Darling," I looked at him curiously as he sat back up, his back facing me. "A long, long time ago, when your Mother, Uncle Kid, Uncle Star, Aunt Patty, Aunt Liz, Aunt Tsubaki and I were either fifteen, or somewhere around there, we were fighting a very, very strong Kishin, the first Kishin ever, Asura. We all almost died. Your Mother was the one to destroy him. But, fight before he died, he did something he, he put some kind of _spell_ on us, and it sent us to a different world. Heck, we're still in that different world he sent us. We have no clue how to go back. The only communication we have with our old world is by, going to a window or a mirror, get it all fogged up by breathing on it, and write the numbers 42-42-564 (AN: I've got this memorized...I've got waaaaayyy too much time on my hands...) with your finger. I remembered the numbers by this saying: 42-42-564, If you wanna knock on Death's door. Oh, Yeah, I forgot to mention the principle is Death himself. But he's really nice!" I froze now knowing that _Death_ is the principle! Death! An idea popped in my mind. I wanted to talk to Death. I knew he couldn't hurt me through a window, right? I stood up, Daddy watching me curiously as I went to the back porch (since we were in the back yard), blew onto the window a few times, then wrote the numbers in as I recited the rhyme Daddy had told me. As soon as my index finger left the window, I heard a sound come from it. It sounded like a phone ringing.

"HELLLLOOO!"

"EEK!" I fell backwards, staring, shocked at what I saw. He was wearing all black, as far as I could see, and his face was like a circle with three long points sticking out the bottom. '**So _this _is Death?'**Death suddenly spoke.

"Well, your not from Shibusen, are, little one?" I shook my head as I stood up and smiled.

"Nope. My name's Azalea! And I'm guessing your name is Death?" I asked tilting my head. He nodded enthusiastically.

"You could call me Shinigami too, if you'd like! May I ask what your _full _name is?" I nodded, smiling cheekily.

"Sure! It's Azalea Eater Albarn!" At that exact moment my Daddy decided to come over.

"I see you've met Azalea, huh, Shinigami-Sama?"

"This is your daughter, Soul Eater?" Daddy nodded, grinning.

"Yup. We just found out that she's a Death Weapon. She might be a Meister, too, but we haven't tested out that theory yet."

"OOOH, Spirit will be glad to hear this! I'll be right back," Death exclaimed. Daddy groaned.

"What's the matter, Daddy? And who's Spirit?"

"Spirit's the matter, and he's your Grandpa. He's probably all old and wrinkled now anyways."

"Aw, don't be so mean Daddy, he's probably prefectly-"

"WAAAAA-HAAAAA!" I was immediately cut off when someone nearly jumped on me, through the freaking window. Instead, the person half-hugged me. I looked over at the the person, and saw that he was a man with dark red hair, and for what I could see, he was wearing a formal black jacket.

"Grandpappy?" He looked at me with hearts in his eyes.

"KAWAII!" (AN:Kawaii means cute) Daddy groaned again in the background.

"Hey," Daddy said, causing everybody to glance at him, except me, since I was being held in a death grip. "Could you leave my daughter alone, she's got to train!" Spirit immediately let go of me and I stumbled backwards.

"You Bastard! You think I can't spend time with my Granddaughter? How _heartless!"_ Daddy just rolled his eyes.

"Come on Spirit!" Death said. "Your substituting for class 5-2, remember?" Grandpappy sighed.

"Don't worry," I whispered to him. "I'll call you tonight!" He smiled and nodded. (AN: Let's pretend that Spirit has one of those mirror thingys in his room, 'kay?) Him and Death waved and I waved back, smiling as the window went back to normal.

"Okay, I want you to chop down that tree over there using your scythe, 'kay?" Daddy pointed to a large maple tree, which was probably 20-25 feet around. Daddy was training me like crazy! He made me run three laps around the fence (The fence wraps around the border of the house-which was _eleven acres.),_ then do fifty push-ups, one hundred jumping jacks, 75 sit-ups, and know he was making me chop down a flippin' huge tree! But I couldn't complain. I promised myself I would get stronger. I nodded and walked up to the tree, determined. I summoned my Scythe quite easily and fast, since when I took a break, Daddy would make me transform my arm, back and forth. He even made me try to made the scythes come out of my back, legs, and other arm. It worked. I took the first swing at it. It hardly made a dent. I stuck out my bottom lip.

"If you keep on training, then you could break that tree straight in half with just one blow!" Daddy yelled to me from his spot on a bench. I grinned. That was my new goal. Break a tree in half. With just one hit. I hit in, over and over. Each time I hit the tree, it made a loud _clunk! _By this time the sun was beginning to set. I kept hitting it, not stopping. I was so determined. I wanted to show Daddy and Mama how strong I could be, even if I was so little.

"Hey!" Daddy called out to me. "I'll make a bet with you. If you can break that tree in half before nine, then I'll teach you how to use your soul wavelength to make your blows way stronger. Then you'd be way stronger!" I smiled cutely.

"'Kay!"

"Halfway there," I mumbled to myself. By this time it was night and Daddy had gone inside. He'd left our bright back porch light on, and I wasn't that far from the back porch, so the light reached me. My arm hurt very bad, and I was scared since neither Mama nor Daddy were outside, but I wasn't about to voice it. "I won't give up," I whispered.

"Azalea, It's time for dinner!" I almost transformed my arm back and ran inside, but I couldn't. I didn't even stop.

"Could you put it in the fridge for me Mama? I really need to finish this."

"Sure Honey. Just don't stay out too late, and remember, we're watching you, so don't worry!" I smiled and closed my eyes for a moment, resulting in me missing the tree and only hitting air, causing me to fall on my face. Mama began laughing.

"Mama," I whined. "I could've died!" She just smiled and waltzed back inside. I glared at the floor and saw that I was bleeding. I freaked out. "E-Eh? Why is there-" I stopped when I saw that in my normally red blood, there was black droplets. I screamed a bloodcurdling scream when it healed itself. Mama and Daddy rushed out to me.

"What's wrong Azalea?" Mama asked.

"I-I, there's b-black stuff in my, my blood! Mama it healed itself and all the blood went back into my boo-boo!" Mama and Daddy looked at me, terrified and shocked.

"Listen," Daddy said, gripping my shoulders lightly. "Sometimes, when you dream, there might be a little red guy in a black suit. Don't listen to anything he says. You can be friends with him, but _don't listen to him!_ If there's anyone else there, don't listen to that person, either, okay?" I nodded, scared. I immediately made the scythe go away.

"Honey," Mama said, "How about you go take a shower, eat, then go to bed, okay?"

"But I've gotta finish-"

"The bet's off tonight, you can start again tomarrow," Daddy offered. I nodded, and went inside.

-**Maka's POV-**-

'**I can't believe my little Angel has the Black Blood. I might as well go inside and call everyone. They ought to know.' **

"Well she's sure full of surprises, isn't she?" Soul muttered, chuckling. I joined in and nodded. We then walked inside. Soul sighed and sat down at the dining table next , finishing his dinner quietly. I fast-walked upstairs and walked into our bedroom, where the telephone was. I dialed Kid's number first. After a few moments, Tsubaki answered. Her and Kid got married eight years ago, when I was pregnant with Azalea.

"Hello?"

"Hey Tsubaki, It's Maka."

"Oh! Hi Maka! Do you need to talk to Kid?"

"Nah, I'll talk to you, but could you tell Kid what I'm going to tell you?" I answered, "It's about Azalea."

"What about your little Angel Azalea?"

"Well, we just found out today, that she can summon a scythe like Soul."

"Ah! That's great! So she's a Death Weapon," Tsubaki said sadly.

"Maybe. We think she might be able to handle Death Weapons too, like me. Why were you sad about Azalea might being a Death Weapon?"

"Ah, It's just that, Nikolai is a Death Weapon, and I thought that him and Azalea could be partners..."

"Hm, that's a pretty good idea! Do you have any plans for tomarrow?" I asked excitedly.

"No, Why?" Tsubaki asked.

"Maybe you can come over tomorrow!"

"Ah, that'd be great! I'll go ask Kid now," I could hear Tsubaki put down the phone, and she could slightly hear her small footsteps. A few minutes later, she came back.

"Kid's fine with it. He said he can't wait to see Azalea again, he says that she's the most symmetrical thing ever," Tsubaki said, laughing. "So, do you think Soul will be fine with it?" I waved her hand around as if telling someone to 'Shoo'.

"Yeah, he'll be fine," I replied.

"Maka?"

"Yes?"

"Do you...Do you think we might ever be able to go back, home?" Ouch. That wasn't a topic I had wanted to talk about. In all honesty, I missed Dad so much. I wished I'd never had been so mean to him, oh so long ago.

"I...I don't know, Tsubaki, I don't know." With that, I hung up.

-AUTHOR'S NOTE!

My...Fingers...HURT!

I hope ya liked it!


	2. The Puppeteer Alchemist Prologue 2

Hey everyone! uh, just to let you know, this part of the story she is 8. Here's character profiles for when her and Nik are 8 and 10! To all of..you people! hERE GOES!

Azalea Eater Albarn:: (Her middle name isn't 'Evans' because Soul Eater was too stubborn. XD)

Hair- White, in a short bob

Eye Color-Olive green

Age-8

Skin tone- Fair

Appearance (Clothes-wise)- Anything she can find in her closet, which mostly consists of dresses, skirts, and anything that is easy to move around in. Wears a silver locket around her neck, and has four bracelets (Two on each wrist) which have Transmutation Circles engraved on them, and they're so tiny that you'll need a microscope to see them.

Best friend(s)-Nikolai Death Nakatsukasa (Yes! I memorized how to spell 'Nakatsukasa! :D)

Living/Close Relatives- **Soul "Eater" Evans **(Father), **Maka Albarn **(Mother), **Death the Kid **(Not really related, she calls him Uncle Kid), **Black Star **(Not really related, she calls him Uncle Star), **Patricia "Patty" Thompson **(Not really related, Azalea calls her Auntie Pat-Pat), **Elizabeth 'Liz' Thompson **(Not really related, Azalea calls her Aunt Lizzie), **Tsubaki Nakatsukasa **(Not related, she calls her Aunt Tsusi, pronounced 'Susie'), **Nikolai Death Nakatsukasa** (Not related, treats each other like brother and sister).

Hometown-Resembool.

Occupation-None.

Pets-None, wants a fox.

Likes-Bright colors, Alchemy, Puppetry Alchemy, Fighting (For fun), learning new things, proving people wrong, popcorn, sweets, making new friends, reading, making people happy, running, hiking, playing, drawing, singing.

Dislikes-The color black, being underestimated, getting beat, getting sick, when people make fun of her hair, mean people, when people underestimate others.

Crushes-None

Hobbies-Singing, practicing Alchemy and fighting, Karate, Gymnastics, exercising, hiking.

Personality- Adventurous, always curious, kind, can be serious, rebel, determined, usually underestimated, strong, good at Alchemy, not very good at controlling Niks Death Weapon form (Since she's only used him once, and she 8), had the 'Black Blood', looses her temper easily (Because of the Black Blood), graceful..

Nikolai Death Nakatsukasa::

Hair-Black, the exact same as Death the Kid's hair when he was 16, except Nikolais doesn't have the three white stripes or the little tufts of hair around the neck.

Eye Color-Same as Death the Kid's

Age-10

Skin tone-Fair

Appearance (Clothes wise)- Anything he can find in his closet, which is mostly jeans, a simple t-shirt, and a light jacket.

Best Friend(s)- Azalea Eater Albarn.

Living/Close Relatives-**Death the Kid **(Father), **Tsubaki Nakatsukasa **(Mother), **Soul "Eater" Evans**(Not really related, Nik calls him Uncle Soul), **Maka Albarn **(Not related, calls her Aunt Maka), **Black Star **(Not really related, Nikolai calls him Uncle Star), **Patricia "Patty" Thompson **(Not realted, he calls her Aunt Pat), **Elizabeth "Liz" Thompson **(Not really related, he calls her Aunt Lizzie), **Azalea Eater Albarn** (Not related, best friends, known each other since Nikolai was 4 and Azalea was 2, thinks of each other as brother and sister).

Hometown-Resembool

Occupation-None

Pets-None

Likes-Azalea's singing, learning, Alchemy, being able to change into a Death Weapon, drawing, using Alchemy to enhance his muscles, reading, fighting with Alchemy, teasing Azalea, and meeting new people.

Dislikes-Failing, getting beat, cherries, waiting, rain, unfair/mean people, veggies, dogs.

Crushes- None

Hobbies-Alchemy, drawing, learning more fighting moves, reading, exercising, fighting, and eating (XD).

Personality-Good sense of humor, nice, smart, Adventureous, protective of people he loves likes to fight.

-DONE-

-Azalea's POV-

"Flying...Mint...Bunny...Ahh..." I mumbled in my sleep. I immediately heard snickering. I groggily sat up as I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand. "Mama? Daddy?"

"Yes Azalea. It's time to get up Honey," Mama said to me. "I made your favorite," she said in a sing-song voice.

"Chocolate pancakes?" I asked as I sprang up in bed. Mama nodded.

"You'd better hurry before your Father eats 'em all, you know how he is..." That got me up.

"NOOOOO! DADDY! DON'T EAT ALL THE PANCAKES!" I yelled as I ran down the stairs and nearly bumped into Daddy.

"Don't worry, don't worry, I left three for you." I smiled and ran over to the dining table, which had sunflowers in a vase, obviously to Mama from Daddy.

"Ooooh, Daddy, you got flowers for Mama," I said as he blushed.

"No! I just, eh, saw them, yesterday, and I thought, that, uh," Daddy exclaimed, trying to find an excuse. "I thought they would look great on this lovely table! Yeah! That's it! I mean, why would someone as cool as me get flowers for someone?"

"Maka...CHOP!" Turns out, Mama was right behind him listening the whole time. I tried to suppress a giggle. Key word being 'tried'. One tiny little giggle escaped. Just one.

"You still do that?" Daddy groaned, rubbing his now sore head. Mama simply ignored him and smiled at me.

"We have got to hurry and get this rat nest (Thanks to your Dad) cleaned up." Daddy rolled his eyes and went upstairs.

"Why Mama? I someone coming over?" I said, getting excited. Mama nodded.

"Yeah, it _was _going to just be Kid, Tsubaki, and their son, but _no, _your Dad just _had _to invite Black Star and the others. It's not that I don't like them it's just, their, loud. Except Liz. " Mama said, knowing that Daddy would be able to hear her.

"Hey! _Sorry!_" I laughed at Dad's words as Mama got my plate ready. When she set it down in front of me, I dug in. Mama laughed heartily. I had always loved food.

"Hey Mama?"

"Yes?"

"Can I practice my Scythe on the tree outside like yesterday?" She nodded.

"Sure, just don't hurt yourself, 'Kay?" I nodded happily. "Oh!" Mama exclaimed. "Did you practice your Japanese like I asked you?" I flinched. I was so caught up training yesterday, and then I stayed up late talking to Grandpappy last night, that I'd forgotten to practice Japanese. Mama had taught me Japanese long ago, she'd told me that where she was from, that was their language. And even though I know it and can pronounce it perfectly, Mom still makes me practice.

"Mama," I whined, "Why do I still have to practice it? I know all the syllables, the symbols, how to pronounce it, everything!" She sighed.

"Fine. But only since your so caught up in your training, and you're obsessed with Alchemy!"

"Hey! I only practice Alchemy because I need something to keep all the bad guys away, besides my Scythe!" Mama simply smiled. I grinned back. "DADDY! C'MON! I WANNA SEE YOUR WEAPON!"

"I'm comin', I'm comin', jeeze, so not cool." Daddy replaied as he slowly walked down the steps.

"Well, c'mon let's go!" I said, pumping a fist up in the air, I had already ate and put up my plate while I was talking to Mama.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you can't train in Pj's, can you?" Mama said. I looked down at my clothes and blushed. I was wearing a lilac nightgown.

"I'll be right back!" I yelled over my shoulders as I was running upstairs to my bedroom. I went in there, and to my dresser. "Hmm, what should I where? Oh! I know!" I pulled out some dark purple shorts and a plain white t-shirt. I smiled and went into my closet to change. I came out, wearing my normal clothes, obviously. I frowned at myself in the mirror next to the door to my bedroom as I pulled my silky white hair. It was too short to do anything with it, so I put a small bobby pin in it. My hair was to my chin, in a bob. I didn't usually like going into town, since people would look at me weirdly, and kids and teenagers would laugh and make fun of me, because of the color of it, even though it's only happened twice, but they were both horrible.. I sighed and ran back downstairs, where Mama was waiting for me.

"Hey Mama, where's Daddy?" I asked her.

"Oh, he's out on the back porch." Mama answered, reading a book. I nodded, randomly hugged her, and ran outside, only to be swept up in a mega-hug.

"WAAAAAA~~ YOUR SO SYMMETRICAL! I LOOOOOVVVVEEE YOU~~~~"

"Uncle Kid! I've missed you this...Much!" I exclaimed, spreading out my arms as far as they would go. He laughed.

"How, how adorable! Don't you see, Tsubaki?" Uncle Kid said, holding me out by the arms as if I was a big teddy-bear. Tsubaki nodded, laughing lightly.

"Uncle Kid?" I asked.

"Yes, my Symmetrical Wonder?"

"Where's Nik?"

"Ah, my Beloved Symmetrical Boy. He's right over there!" He said as he let me go, and I ran off to where Uncle Kid had pointed to. I soon saw him near the tree that I'd cut through-halfway.

"NIKOLAI!" He quickly turned around and grinned at me. I ran towards him happily, and It felt like I was running through a field of flowers, running towards a loved one...Or something. Nikolai opened up his arms, right before I jumped into them. The impact made him fall backwards, bringing me with him. We laughed and stayed like that for a few moments.

"You should really get a haircut, ya know." I said to Nik after we got up. We were now sitting on our swing set, me on the swing, while he was lightly pushing me. But it was true. Niks' hair looked exactly like his dad's, except it didn't have the three white stripes or the little pieces of hair around the bottom of his neck. He sighed.

"I know. I really want to, but Dad insists on me being," He paused. "his "Beloved Symmetrical Wonder," he said, mocking Uncle Kids' voice. I laughed.

"One day, I'm gonna get you that haircut, I promise. And I bet-"

"YAHOOO! GOD IS HERE!" I was cut off by Uncle Stars' voice coming from the front yard.

"Hide." Nikolai said bluntly. I nodded and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards our tree house.

"Why are we going to the tree house?" Nik asked. I grinned, not looking back at him.

"'Cause, Uncle Star never looks there.

-30 Mins. later-

Me and Nikolai were in the tree house, drawing pictures and telling each other funny stories. Nikolai kept bragging about how he beat up some older kids who were talking down about Alchemy. Nik was also into Alchemy, but our parents didn't really like it.

"Hey, Nik," I said while I was drawing a picture of a Mama fox cuddling with her baby. I thought it looked pretty.

"Yeah?" I put down my crayons and turned around so that I was facing him. He noticed me soon afterwards and looked at me with a blue crayon still in his hand. "What's wrong?" Nik asked, suddenly getting worried.

"Eh? No, nothing's wrong. I just wanted to show you something." I smiled at him as my scythe arm came out from my left arm. He just smirked.

"Your a weapon, huh? Me too." He quickly changed his left arm into his weapon too. It looked a lot like a scythe. It was light blue, with silver symbols and carvings on the blade, it also had Kanji on the handle. "Can you change your whole body into a weapon?" He asked me. I shook my head.

"Nope. Just my body parts. Can you?" He nodded happily. "Ooh! Can I try to pick you up?" He shrugged.

"It might not work. We have to have the same soul wavelength. Dad and Uncle Star tried to hold me, but I was too heavy." I grinned.

"So? Then I'll just be the first person to do it!" I exclaimed with determination shining in my olive green eyes. Nik smirked.

"Okay, do it." he said, probably thinking that I _couldn't_ do it.

"I will! Change into your weapon form!" I yelled with my hands on my hips. I absolutely _hated _it when people doubted me. He kept that smirk on his face, even when the bright white light engulfed him completely. Nik was gone, and in his place was a big scythe. It also had a knife-thingy on the opposite side of the scythe. (AN:There's a pic of it over there- But ignore the pic of the girl, that's not one of the characters...)

"Cool! Your a scythe like Me and Mama!" I muttered to myself. (AN: She doesn't know that her Dad is a scythe, too)

"Don't just stand there! Pick me up, if you can."

"EEP!" I screamed, falling back onto my butt. The voice sounded like Nikolai's, and it came from the sword. "Oh! I didn't know you could talk in your Death Weapon form." I said, standing back up and walking to Nik's weapon. Niks' face showed up in the side of the sword.

"Of course I can! When did you learn about all this, yesterday?"

"Eh, heh heh, about that..." I muttered, scratching the back of my head sheepishly.

"You _did _learn about this yesterday? Ugh, just try to pick me up."

"Okay, okay! Sheesh!" I bent down so that I could pick him up. I poked the hilt of it with my right hand, and felt a warm tingly feeling rush up and down my arm, and the scythe glowed dark blue, and it faded away after a few moments. I smiled. I then quickly wrapped my hand around the handle and jerked my arm up. I had picked him up and pointed the tip of the blade to the floor. I smirked in triumph.

"I did it! Nik, look, I did it! Haha!" I half-yelled, jumping up and down. Niks Death Weapon form was light and I could wave it around like a twig, even though it was two times as big as me.

"You did it Lea! Now we can be partners! WOO-HOO!"

"Let's show everybody! I said with the same enthusiasm as Nikolai. Nik's face appeared once again on the side of the blade and he nodded, smiling. At that moment I got an idea. '**Uncle Star'll like this...' **I thought boldly.

"Hey, Nik," I whispered.

"What?"

"I've got an awesome idea," I said happily, yet evilly.

"What is it? I wanna know!" He yelled after I threw him up in the air and he changed back. To be honest, it felt as if I had been wielding Nik for all my life. It came so naturally. I ran up to him and whispered the plan in his ear. After I finished telling him and pulled away, he looked at me with the same evil look that I had just a few moments ago. I smirked at him as I crawled down the steps of the tree house, with Nik right behind me.

"Okay, we're gonna have'ta be really quiet, 'kay?" I said as Nik nodded. Since the tree house was pretty far from home, it took us a while to get there. When we did get there, Nik was breathing slightly heavy, but not me.

"How are you not tired?" Nik whispered with his hands on his knees, bending over. I gave him the peace sign.

"Daddy trains me."

"Oh." I giggled. We continued walking, Nik leading the way this time.

-"Okay, everybody's in the front yard talking." Nik whispered over his shoulder at me, he was on the side of the house peeking over the corner at everyone in the front yard. Nik ran over to the small shed next to him, and picked up a spare chair and threw in on top of the it.

"What're you doin', Nik?" he simply ignored me and bent over in front of the shed, with his hands folded.

"Put your feet in my hands, I'll lift you up, then myself," he told me quietly.

"Okay..." I said, walking to him from my spot on a large rock, which was also on the top of the shed. I put one foot in his hand, and he practically threw me on top of the shed, which was right next to the wall. Luckily, I landed gracefully (Thanks to taking Gymnastics and Karate), without making any noise.

"Okay, now get on the chair and climb onto the roof, 'kay?" He told me, pulling himself up. Nik took Karate too, but not gymnastics, so it took him a minute to get up. I did as I was told and jumped on the chair, then the roof. I crouched down so that no one but Nik could see me. A few moments later, Nik crouched down beside me.

"Okay," Nik started, "I'll change into my Weapon form, and you'll do the rest, right?"

"Right." I replied giddily. I couldn't wait for what was going to happen. Sometimes, it's fun to show off. Nik changed into his Weapon form, and I quickly grabbed him so that he wouldn't fall off of the roof. "Okay, let's do this." I muttered to myself. I crawled over to the very top of the roof and peeked over. '**Perfect. No one's looking over here.' **I stood up and positioned Nik so that the blade was resting on my shoulders. It didn't hurt, luckily. But the bad thing was that the tip of the blade hit the roof..

"Um. Nik? Could you make the blade shorter?" I asked him.

"Oh, yeah." Then scythe glowed dark blue again and when it dissipated, the scythe was shorter and it didn't touch the top of the roof anymore.

"Thanks."

"Welcome." I took in a few deep breaths and realized what I was goind to do, and how dangerous it might be.

"Oh, whatever, I'm doin' it, it's gonna be so cool!" I whispered to myself and smiled. I took one more deep breath, and jumped off the roof.

"YAHOOOO!" Everyone whipped their heads around to look at me. Everyone was too astonished to say anything.

"Azalea! Swing me as if you were about to hit something!" I nodded and listened to what Nik said. I swung it, hard. A big, dark blue wave of _something_ that looked like Niks bigger blade of the two shot out and hit the exact tree that I was trying to break yesterday, straight in half. My eyes got wide in astonishment. I did it again, harder, and the force of it pushed me back, far. This time, the blue wave was almost _three _times as big as the first one, and, since I had aimed it upwards, it went up, and literally destroyed many clouds, and so it started raining. (AN: If you know who Kagura is -From Inuyasha- Then you'll know what this looks like. It looks like Kagura's wind attacks, but Azalea only does one at a time, and it's bigger, and dark blue, not white)

"Woah!" I exclaimed.

"Azalea, concentrate! Your falling, Smart Tart!" Nik yelled at me. I looked down, and saw that I was literally 10-15 feet from hitting the ground. (AN: Another AN! Okay, it took Azalea so long to hit the bottom b/c the first time she used her Death Wave, -That's what i'm gonna call that thing she did just now.- the force of it pushed her really high up, and the 2nd time, she was forced down, so that's why. The End.) Out of reflex, I quickly stabbed Nik down into the ground and flipped around the hilt so that I was still holding onto him, and sitting on the hilt, my legs dangling right above the ground. (Basically Niks blade was in the ground and I was sitting where you hold on to.)

"How's that for showing off, huh Uncle Star?" I asked him, laughing. I only ever showed off when Uncle Star was here, because it was always so fun to mess with him. I jumped off of Nik and slung him over my shoulder as Uncle Star started rambling on about how he was number one, and I couldn't beat him. Meanwhile, Uncle Death was on the front porch rambling on about how his son wasn't symmetrical, while Aunt Tsubaki was on the front porch in her white sundress, comforting him.

"That was...AWESOME!" Yelled Aunt Pat-Pat, who was jumping up and down in a green tank top and Capri's, her now long blond hair bouncing around everywhere. Aunt Liz just stood there in her denim shorts and a plain yellow t-shirt, rolling her eyes at Aunt Pat-Pat. I just stood there, laughing, as I threw Nik up in the air and he changed back, landing in his human form next to me. I looked over at Mama and nearly ran away. She was standing next to Daddy (Who was laughing like crazy), fuming mad, her eye was even twitching! She saw me looking at her, and stormed over to me, Daddy following close behind.

"Azalea! YOU COULD HAVE DIED! SOMEONE COULD'VE SEEN YOU!" I frowned, rubbing my head sheepishly. "But," Mama paused, and I looked up at her. "It was still pretty awesome." I grinned, and hugged her. I soon made Nik join our hug, and we then made everyone else come over. Everybody did, Uncle Star being last. He was still rambling, even when he got to us.

"I can't believe I got my spotlight taken by an eight-year-old..." he muttered as he reached us, but quickly cheered up and threw me up onto his shoulders, and Daddy put Nikolai on his shoulders. Uncle Star then walked up next to Daddy and so me and Nik hi-fived and grinned at each other. After a few minutes, we got bored and jumped off their backs as soon as Mama and Tsubaki yelled the words, "LUNCH TIME!" We were the first one's to reach the table while Mama was setting out the food- which was hot dogs. I had to make Nik wait to eat, because we all know that Nik eats-a lot.

"Okay, okay, you can eat now," Mama told everyone, well, mostly Nik. Nik took two hot dogs, french-fries, and a random banana that was oh-so randomly sitting in a bowl. I only took one hot dog, and some french-fries. Me and Nik both took some grape soda, it was one thing we had in common, we both _loved _grape soda. All of the adults grabbed what they were going to eat, and put in on a plate, and went inside to get their drinks and eat.

"Hey, Nik," I said after finishing my french-fries, "Do you think Uncle Star and Aunt Tsubaki will let you spend the night tomorrow?" he shrugged, still chewing his food. "Hm, I've got an idea!" I exclaimed, holding my finger up. Nik swallowed his food and looked over at me.

"What?" he asked.

"We should get everyone to teach us!"

"Hm, that'd be pretty cool," Nik said, then continued eating. I sighed, picking up my plate and bringing it inside to the kitchen. I threw the plate in the trash then peeked around the corner into a room where Mama and the others were talking and eating. I took a deep breath and put on my adorable and innocent act. Everybody falls for this, I learned it from a man I met named Ayame, who teaches acting, he even has his own clothing store. (AN: If you can guess which anime Ayame is from, then you get a few awesome points :D) And the funniest thing is that, every time we see each other, we get all dramatic, hug and stuff like that, ha! Mama hates it, and Daddy thinks it's hilarious. I then continued my act and slowly walked into the room, a worried look plastered on my face and my hands behind my back. They hadn't noticed me yet, so I made my presence known.

"M-Mama? Daddy?" It worked. Everybody stopped eating. I mentally smirked. They were easily falling for it.

"Yeah Honey?" Daddy asked me, and I looked down at the floor. My act almost slipped up, since I was so close to laughing.

"Uhm...I-I was, wondering if, maybe, you all could teach me and Nikolai to, um, fight?" I said it more like a question, but whatever. It would work anyways. '**Jeeze,' **I thought to myself, '**I'm getting a little_too_ good at this, huh?' **I mentally sighed, again. Mama and Daddy turned back around (Their backs were facing me when I walked in) and were about to say something as they turned back around, but...

"WE'LL TRAIN YA! YAHOOO! I'LL TEACH YOU THE POWER OF GOD!" Uncle Star yelled. I flinched as I held my fist up in front of my face.

"YOU DON'T HAVE'TA YELL, YA KNOW!" Oops. My act slipped.

"WELL THEN WHY ARE _YOU_ YELLING?" Uncle star hollered, standing up and slamming his hands down on the table.

"BECAUSE YOU ARE!" I screamed back.

"WHY YOU LITTLE-"

"Liz, Patty, transform." Uncle Kid whispered. Only I could hear him, since I was pretty close to him. I ignored it though.

"YEAH? YOU WANNA SAY SOMETHIN'?" This happened sometimes, but rarely. I'd suddenly lose control and be mean, and when I finally came to, I'd have no idea of what happened, until after a while. Then i'd realize what I did and remember it all. I hated it. I didn't know what would happen or what I'd do. I once heard Mama telling Daddy that she was worried it get worse, but he told her I'd only lose control and hurt people if I was in serious trouble or surrendered to 'it'. But I didn't know what 'it' was.

"HELL YEAH I DO!"

"THEN FREAKING SAY IT!"

"FINE-" Uncle Stars' words had been stopped short when a gun was placed to his temple.

"Shut up, will you? Don't you realize that Azalea lost it?" Uncle Star immediately shut up, and I was in the background yelling things like "Shoot 'em dead!", and then saying random stuff, like pointing out the window and screaming, "FLYING MINT BUNNEHHHHHH!" Next thing I know, Uncle Kid walks up to me, and he hits me on the pressure point on my neck with the back of one of his two guns, and I fall unconscious.

"Ugh, Mama, is that you?" I asked groggily, shielding my eyes from the sudden light. She nodded and smiled.

"Do, do you know what happened?" She asked me. "You've only been out for about an hour. Nikolai's so worried." I started to shake my head, but then my eyes widened, and it all came back to me.

"U-Uncle Star! I've got to say 'sorry'!" I exclaimed, quickly pushing myself out of the bed (Which I just realized was my bed) and rushed down the stairs as Mom yelled, "He's in the back yard, talking to some of his friends, Trisha Elric, and her son!" I quickly changed directions, since I was going in the exact _opposite _of the back yard. I ran onto the front porch, not caring that three strangers (One brunette lady, and a boy around my age with short golden hair and golden eyes) staring at me. I had to say 'sorry'. I smiled as I saw Uncle Star standing in front of the strangers with Nik and Auntie Pat-Pat (Auntie Pat-Pat is Uncle Star's wife) Luckily Uncle Star was looking at me too, smiling. I then began to run down the three porch steps, planning to run and jump into Uncle Star's arms and tell him how sorry I was. But, that little dream was cut short when I tripped on the last step and literally_face-planted. _All I heard was Nik laughing. I looked up and glared at him.

"It's not funny!" I yelled at him, as I slowly sat up, spitting out chunks of dirt. I didn't even care about all of the people staring at me and Nik. Even Auntie Pat-Pat stopped inspecting a caterpillar to look at me.

"Oh, yeah, it kinda is." he replied.

"Oh shut up, _Nikki_." I said, smirking. He hated that name, and I was the only person he wouldn't beat up if someone called him that.

"Okay, your gonna get it." He told me, taking off his black jacket and tossing it onto a nearby picnic table.

"Uh-oh...Aw, are gonna fight _again?_" Nik nodded.

"Yup. But no Alchemy this time. Last time you nearly killed me!"

"But, that's not fair! I just woke up! It's not _my_ fault I lost it! Okay, maybe it is..." I muttered. Nik just rolled his eyes and charged after me. He was fast. When he reached me, he aimed a punch towards my face, and I barely dodged it. I ducked down and kicked his right leg, making him fall backwards. I quickly stood up and like a flash of light, he was righti n front of me, aiming punches and kicks where ever he could. That's how it went for a while. _Dodge, dodge, hit, dodge, hit hit, dodge, dodge, hit., dodge. _He hadn't hit me once, but he was coming close to it. Yep, soon enough, he had hit me in the shoulder, and I fell backwards. Nik then pinned me down, and smirked at me. I smirked right back. I was wearing my silver bracelets with the tiny Transmutation Circles on them, but Nik didn't know that.

"Hey. You know, partners shouldn't fight, right?" I said, as Nik nodded slowly. "They also shouldn't_cheat, _right?" I half-yelled as I quickly pulled my hands out out Nik's grasp and clapped my hands and placed them on his shoulders, and he was sent back about, uh, 20-30 feet. I stood up and dusted my pants off with my hands. Nik sat up and held his head, groaning.

"U-Um, excuse me, Miss?" I looked over to where the voice came from, to see that it was that boy who was my age.

"Yeah?"

"Um, not to be rude, but," he said, wringing his hands nervously,"I thought he said not to use Alchemy, b-but, you _did."_ I smiled sweetly and giggled, and that giggle turned into a laugh.

"He _did _use alchemy! Didn't you see how fast he was running? He was using Alchemy to make his leg muscles stronger, and it makes him run way faster than usual. Oh, and also, I'm sorry you had to see that. But don't worry, we're really best buddies, right, Nik?"

"Yup," Nik answered, putting his hand on my head.

"We've known each other since forever!" Nik and I both said in unison.

"I'm Azalea Eater Albarn! And he's," I said pointing next to me at Nik, "Nikolai Death Nakatsukasa. Nice to meet you! What's your name?" I asked the boy, and he blushed.

"Oh! I, I'm Alphonse Elric. But my friends just call me Al. You can call me Al, too, if you'd like!" I smiled and nodded.

"Sure, Al!" I exclaimed. I had finally made a new friend. "So, Al, is that your Mama over there?" I asked, pointing at the brunette who was looking up us curiously.

"Yep! Her name's Trisha! Hey Mom! Look, I made some new friends!"

"Oh," she said, walking to us since Uncle Star was talking to Auntie Pat-Pat. "That's great! What is their names?"

"Ah," I said, talking for Al, "I'm Azalea, and this is Nikolai. You can call Nikolai Nik, though." Nik nodded. Trisha smiled and told us,

"If you'd like, you could come over one day to our home to play, and perhaps you could meet my other dear boy, if he's not away practising Alchemy!" She chuckled. My eyes widened and I looked over at Nik slightly worried, slightly excited. The only places Nik and I have ever gone to was each other's houses, since our parents wouldn't let us go anywhere, and they never told us why. Nik must've noticed me looking at him, so he answered Trisha.

"Maybe. We'll ask our Mom and Dads." he said and Trisha nodded.

"I hope you can come over soon!" Al blurted out, blushing. I smiled.

"Me too!" I said. Al looked as if he had an epiphany.

"Um, Azalea? How exactly did you guys do Alchemy without a Transmutation Circle?" Al asked, as Nik smirked and pulled up his pants sleeve, revealing a small transmutation Circle on his calf, then put put his pants sleeve back down. I was worried. My jewelry with the Transmutation Circles were my secret, and only Nik knew of them.

"Um," I started.

"Oh!" Trisha exclaimed. "I forgot! I told Pinako that I'd pick up Edward at one! I'm late! C'mon Alphonse, we have to go! Azalea, Nikolai, you two are welcome anytime. Nice seeing you Black Star!" Trisha quickly grabbed a bag from the floor next to her and grabbed Al's hand, then ran off. I frowned.

"How are we supposed to go see her?" I mumbled.

"Huh?" Nikolai asked me.

"She never gave us their address."

"Crap! We were so close to goin' somewhere!" Nik yelled, and we both laughed.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''Time Skip:: 8:30 PM''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

"Check...MATE! Hai!* I won!" I yelled at Nik. We were playing chess in the living room, and we were also trying to finish as slowly as possible. Why? Well, both of our parents allowed Nikolai to spend the night, and Mama said that we had to go to bed right after we finished our game of chess.

"Hey! I _let _you win! I thought it wasn't fair that I always beat you!" Nik replaied. I simply rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, yeah," I said sarcastically, crossing my arms. "_Whatever _you say, Nik." He glared at me.

"Time to go to bed!" Mama said, peeking into the room.

"But-" I was cut off.

"If you wanna talk back to me, say it in Japanese!" Mama said in a sing-song voice. Nik and I rolled our eyes. (AN: Oh yeah, Nikolai also knows Japanese)

"Fine. Watashi wa beddo ni iku ni shitakunai!**" Nik nodded in agreement and Mama laughed.

"Hmm," Mama trailed, "_If _you go to bed, then I'll let you go to the local library. Nik can come too, if his parents say so." Me and Nik looked over at each other with wide eyes and grins plastered on or faces.

"Really? YAY! Mama I love you _soooo_ much!" she grinned at me.

"I know." And with that, she led us upstairs and into my bedroom, where we both jumped straight in my bed, since we were already in our pajamas. Nik and I had always slept together, that's just how close we were. Mama then tucked us in bed and kissed our foreheads, then closed the door and left. I yawned loudly. I knew I was tired, but I didn't want to go to sleep.

"Azalea?"

"Yeah Nik?"

"I'm bored." I nodded in agreement. We could barely see each other in the moonlight. "Could...Could you sing?" I sighed.

"But everytime I sing to you, you fall asleep!"

"But I won't this time! I'm serious!"

"Fine," I said, giving in. "What song do you want me to sing?" Nik thought for a minute.

"Oh! I got it! How about Omna Magni!" I sighed

"We made that song forever! Besides, it's not even a real language! We just put random words together!" Nik shrugged.

"So?"

"Fine, I guess I'll sing it. Here goes. Are you ready?" I asked him, and he nodded. I took in a deep breath, suddenly remembering all of the lyrics. (AN: Btw, I don't own this song. All rights go to Makino Yui! Also, go on Youtube or something and listen to it! It's really good!)

_"Halta de Manna, Cinca de Manna, Horahoraho."_

_"Horto Prier Blos d'ita," _

_"Omna Magni."_

_"Crietros Strientropo Horahoraho."_

_"Altinigue Ortono Floen D'ermenita."_

_"Hiho Detameno Hiha,"_

_"Miha Trava Lafladitu."_

_"Hiho Detarmeno Hiha,"_

_"Plient Plient Plientu Hora."_

_(Halta de Manna Cinca de Manna)_

_"Horahoraho,"_

_"Horto Prier Blose D'ita,"_

_"Omna Magni._

_(Halta de Manna Cinca de Manna)_

_"Cripar Intari."_

_"Aquarion, Aquarion." (Omna Magni, Makino Yui)_

"There. All done! Are you happy now, Nik? Nik?" I looked over my shoulder to see him sleeping, and I sighed. "Your kidding me. Now I'm gonna be sitting here, bored. Hm...Ooh! I know what I can do!" I hopped up out my bed a walked over to my dresser, where I bent over and reached under it and felt around with my hand. I soon grabbed what I was looking for, and smiled. I then pulled it out. It was a small mirror about as big as one of the 1x1 foot tiles in the kitchen. The outside of it was silver, and has little swirly things all over it, and at the very top, there was what looked like Death-Sama's head. I laughed and breathed on it a few times, fogging it up. I then wrote down my initials on it. "A, E, A," I mumbled to myself. The mirror glowed purple, and illuminated the whole room. Luckily, Nik wasn't awake when the bright light faded. Instead, Grandpappy (AN: Remember? Maka's Dad? Spirit? Yeah. Also, let's pretend that Spirit has one of those magic mirror thingies) was there, wide-eyed, staring at me. Then he grinned and little sparkles formed in his eyes.

"YAY! I'M SO PROUD OF MY LITTLE GRANDDAUGHTER! She even called me _again, _ah, I feel so loved! You are- WAIT! Is...IS THAT A BOY IN YOUR BED?" Grandpappy screamed.

"AH! It-It's not what it looks like! Besides! I'm only eight! He's Uncle Death's son!" I exclaimed, waving my arms around. Grandpappy folded his arms.

"He'd better not be bad. 'Cause if he is, I'll go in though this mirror and beat him with a STICK!"

"Hmm...That gives me an idea...Grandpappy? Could you pretty please try to throw something through the mirror?" He nodded slowly and I could see him walk to his dresser and pick up a small picture frame, then walk back to me.

"Will this work?" He asked, and I took a look at it. It was a picture of Death-Sama, Grandpappy, Mama, Daddy, Uncle Kid, Uncle Star, Auntie Pat Pat, Aunt Liz, and Aunt Tsubaki, all cramed together, and they were a lot younger.

"S-Sugoi!*** Grandpappy, how old is this picture?" He thought about it for a moment.

"Hm...Ten, Eleven years ago? It was a few months after they first fought Stein..." Grandpappy muttered, looking off to the side.

"Uh, who's Stein? Oh! As in, Franken Stein, the story! Ooh, does he have green skin?" He chuckled.

"No, but his name is Frankin Stein, and he's a lot worse than the story Frankin Stein," Grandpappy shuddered. "He, he does _experiments _on things and people! He even has a giant screw through his head..." I sat there, wide-eyed, shocked. '**A _screw _in his head? A _screw?'_**

**** "Now, Azalea, what did you want me to do with it again?" Grandpappy asked me.

"Oh, try to put it through the mirror." I answered, yawning. It was now 9:30. Grandpappy nodded and simply took the picture out of it's frame and flicked at the mirror. The picture passed right through it, and hit me right in the forehead, knocking me backwards onto my back. I almost lost it then. I told myself to stop getting mad over stupid things, and I immediately calmed down. I slowly sat back up, holding my head.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, SORRY! AH! Please forgive me, my wonderful Granddaughter!" GrandPappy said, kneeling on his knees. I giggled.

"It's fine! Lookie, at least the picture went through," I told him, reaching over and picking it up. "Do...Do you want it back?" Grandpappy laughed.

"Nope. I have plenty of beautiful pictures of my splendid Maka, but! None of you."

"Well, then, you can have some!" I said, standing up and walking up to my vanity, where I had about three different photo books, which were all filled. I grabbed all three and walked back over to the mirror.

"Here ya go. I'll give you a whole _bunch _of pictures!" I told Grandpappy, who was practically drooling at all the pictures. "Now, you can have this one...These, too! Oh, yeah, these ones are from last Christmas. Ya want some? Oooh! How 'bout these ones? Oh! This ones my favorite! See? It's a picture of me and Nik! You can have it, I have another one somewhere.." Five minutes later, Grandpappy was fawning over all off the pictures I gave him. I yawned once more.

"Grandpappy? I'm goin' to bed, 'kay? Mama told Nik and I that we could go to the Library tomorrow!" I said, smiling. He nodded and shooed me off, smiling at all of the pictures. I put my hands over the mirror, and Grandpappys face soon disappeared. Mama had given me this picture last year. She told me that I'd know what to do later. I found out what that was just last night when I was talking to Grandpappy. I quickly grabbed the picture that he gave to me and pulled some scissors and my silver locket out of my nightstand. My locket was special. It could hold up to fifteen different pictures in it, because the inside could fold out. There was a picture of me doing the peace sign, and a picture of Nik, smirking. Anyways, I used the scissors to cut out all of their faces, and I put them in my locket, then put the locket around my neck. I jumped into bed next to Nik, and soon fell asleep, facing him.

''''''''''''''''''''''Dream...START!'''''''''''''''''''''''''''

I woke up in an odd room. Everything was white. The walls, the chair, the old radio in the corner, everything. The only thing that wasn't white was myself. This room scared me.

'**I must be dreaming, right? But I thought when you dream, you don't usually control yourself, thing just, happen. Hm...Where's a door to get outta this place?' **I turned around, and there was, of course, a white door. I quickly ran to it and yanked it open. I was now in what looked like a fancy living room of some sort. This room wasn't like the other one at all. In this one everything was in color. Fancy white and gold chairs were against the wall, making a 'U' shape, with me being at the opening of the 'U'. There was white carpet, and white walls with golden borders. Picture frames adorned the walls, but there were no pictures inside the picture frames. **'That's weird..'** I then turned around to see a hallway. I slowly wandered down it curiously, only to see that their was only one room. I cautiously held onto the doorknob, afraid to open it. I hesitated.

"So? Are you going to open it?" I quickly whipped my head around and glared at the little thing in front of me. That glare soon faded, and I let go of the door knob. Now I was seriously scared. She was the exact replica of me! She was wearing a little black and white Lolita dress. I looked down, and noticed I was wearing it, too.

"Who...Who are you?" I asked her, frightened. I was trying as hard as I could not to stutter. She smiled, only this smile didn't exactly reach her eyes.

"Who am I? Why, I'm you, of course! Who else could I be? I'm your eviler half. All those bad feelings inside of you (Which is hardly any, you're so pure), all those mean thoughts, the things that happen when you lose it? That's...Me!" I slowly nodded.

"So...Does that mean you have the same name as me?" She looked at me weirdly.

"Hm...I never thought about it. I should think of a name for myself, huh? Hm...How about...Leah? Nah, too nice sounding," she said to herself.

"How about...Zale? I think that name's nice, huh?" I suggested. She grinned.

"That's a good idea, since it's derived from Azalea..." She trailed off.

"Huh? It is? I just thought of a random name..." I said, and she sighed.

"Whatever, Azalea, my name is officially Zale! Now, as I was saying, why don't you open the door?" I hesitated, and Zale grinned. "Are you...Are you _frightened?" _ I glared at her.

"No! I'm not scared! How dare you doubt me!" Zale simply grinned.

"Then open it."

"Fine!" I hastily jerked open the door, and it banged against the wall next to us.

"Jeeze!" Zale exclaimed. "Destroy my home, why don't you?" I ignored her and looked inside the room. It lighting was dim, and the only contents were a white and gold grand piano, white table and two chairs, a white guitar, gold drums and picture frames with no pictures on the walls. I frowned.**'I...I can't play piano..' **I looked over to Zale about to say something, only to see that she wasn't there, but she was suddenly in the middle of the room.

"Sing for me," she simply told me, and snapped her fingers, and the drums and guitar began to play by themselves. I thought it was very odd and random, and I didn't know what song it was at first. So I freaked out during the intro, but then, lyrics started randomly coming to me, so I sang them. (AN: This song is called 'Again' by YUI... I DON'T OWN IT!)

"Yume no Tsudzuki," I nearly stopped singing. I sounded way older than I really was!

"Oikaketeita Hazu Nano ni,"

"Magarikunetta Hosoimichi,"

"Hito ni Tsumazuku,"

"Ano Koro Mitai ni tte,"

"Modoritai Wake Janai no,"

"Nakushitekite Sora wo,"

"Sagashiteru.."

"Wakattekuremasu Youni."

"Gisei ni Natta Youna Kanshii kao ha Yamete yo..." It then started to get fast.

"Tsumi no Saigo ha Namida Janai yo,"

"Zutto Kurushiku Seottekunda,"

"Deguchi Mienai Kansei Meiro ni Dare wo Matteru no?"

"Shiroi NO-TO ni Tsudzutta Youni,"

"Motto Sunao ni Hakidashitai yo,"

"Nani Kara Nogaretainda?"

"...Genjitsu tte Yatsu?"

"Kanaeru Tame ni Ikiterundatte,"

"Wasurechai Souna Yoru no Mannaka,"

"Bunan ni Nante Yatte Rarenai Kara."

"...Kaeru Basho mo nai no..."

"Kono Omoi wo Keshiteshimau ni ha..."

"Mada Jinsei Nagai Desho?"

(I'm on the way)

"Natsukashiku Naru...Konna Itami mo Kangeijan!"

"Ayamaranakucha Ikenai yo ne..."

"Ah, GOMEN ne..."

"Umaku ienakute,"

"Shinpai Kaketa Mama Datte ne?"

"Ano hi Kakaeta Zenbu, Ashita Kakaeta Zenbu."

"Junban Tsuketari ha Shinai Kara..."

"Wakattekuremasu Youni."

"Sotto me wo Tojitanda Mitakunai mono made Miendamon."

"Iranai UWASA ni Chotto, Hajimete Kiku Hatsugen Docchi?"

"'Nikai Attara Tomodachi da tte'? USO ha Yamete ne."

"Akai HA-TO ga Iradatsu Youni, Karadannaka Moeteirunda."

"HONTO ha... Kitai Shitenno..."

"...Genjitsu tte Yatsu?"

"Kanaeru Tame ni, Ikiterundatte."

"Sakehitaku naru yo...Kikoeteimasuka?"

"Bunan ni Nante Yatterarenai kara."

"...Kaeru Basho mo nai no..."

"Yasashisa ni ha Itsumo Kansha, Shiteru Dakara Tsuyoku Naritai!"

(I'm on the way)

"Susumu tame ni teki mo Mikata mo Kangeijan."

"Dou Yatte sugi no DOA Akerundakke? Kangaeteru?"

"Mou Hikikaesenai, Monogatari Hajimatterunda."

"Me wo Samase, Me wo Samase..." The lyrics stopped flooding into my mind, and the guitar started going by itself. '**Must be the guitar solo?'** After a few moments, the lyrics came back into my head.

"Kono omoi wo, Keshiteshimau ni ha...Mada Jinsei Nagai Desho?"

"Yarinokoshiteru KOTO... Yarinaoshitemitai kara..."

"Mou Ichido Yukou!"

"Kanaeru tame ni, Ikiterundatte."

"Sakehitakunaru yo...Kikoetaimasuka?"

"Bunan ni Nante Yatterarenai kara!"

"...Kaeru Basho mo nai no!"

"Yasashisa ni ha Itsumo Kansha Shiteru, Dakara Tsuyoku Naritai."

(I'm on the way)

"Natsukashiku narau Konna Itami mo Kangeijan!" I took a deep breath. The song was finally over.

"So why'd you make me sing? And why did my voice sound...Older?" Zale simply ignored me.

"You'll be sixteen years old, huh?" Zale muttered to herself.

"Huh? What're you talking 'bout?" She looked at me and smiled. "Good Morning," she said, then everything faded to white, and I woke up.

"Ugh...What was _that _all about?" I looked at the wall across from me, to see what time it was. It was 7:45.

**'Why do I _always _wake up at 7:45? Weird. Ah, I guess I should wake Nik up..'**

**-3 Minutes later''''''''''''''''''''''**

"Why'd you freaking wake me up?"

"I said I was sorry! Jeeze, Nik, your a meanie." Nik simply stuck his tongue out at me, and I rolled my eyes. Just then we heard footsteps nearing my room. It was Daddy, and he just told us to get dressed. Nik looked over at me excitedly.

"I bet we're going to the Library!" He told me, and I gaped.

"Yay! Now we can learn more about Alchemy! I've heard about Puppetry Alchemy, and I wanna see if they have any books about it!" Nik nodded in agreement, even though I knew he wasn't into Puppetry Alchemy, he preferred using Alchemy to enhance his body to make it stronger. I really didn't know anything about Puppetry Alchemy, but when I heard Daddy talking about it with Uncle Kid over the telephone, two years ago, I'd wanted to learn it. That's how I got into Alchemy. Daddy said that no one's ever been able to perform it, but that's just got me even more interested. I hated being doubted, and I'd want so badly to be able to do it, just because no one else could. And I knew that I'd be able to do it when Daddy also said he suspected that it required complete control of your soul, and that It used some of your soul, but it would come back to you soon.

"'Kay, Azalea, I'm gonna get changed in the bathroom," Nik told me, and I nodded. As soon as he shut the door behind him, I walked over to my dresser, toying with my silver locket. When I reached it, I bent over and opened the second drawer, which held my skirts and dresses. I pulled out my favorite one. It was white, with green swirls everywhere and brown flowers here and there. I grinned and also grabbed some brown leggings, since it was one of those cooler days. I just got changed right there, opened the door and ran out, bumping into Nik, but luckily, I didn't fall.

"Jeeze, your such a klutz," Nikolai said, laughing. He was wearing simple jean Capri's and a neon yellow t-shirt, with a grey and white striped light jacket. I puffed out my cheeks (You know, when kids get mad they sometimes do that? My sis does..), and glared at him.

"Hey! I'm just eight! Of course I'm a klutz!" Nik looked at me astonished.

"Wow. That's the first time I've ever heard a kid admit she was little!" He exclaimed, laughing,

"What? Your only two years older than me!" I half-yelled.

"Yup. Seven Hundred and thirty days older," Nik pointedly said, and I stomped down the stairs, Nik close behind.

"You've won this time, Nik," I muttered to myself. We sat down at the table, me next to Daddy, and Nik next to me, while Mama was making us some simple cereal. She gave me and Nik ours first, and we dug in, Nik obviously going way faster than me, also finishing way before me.

"Hurry up!" Nik yelled at me, "We've gotta go to the Library!" I waved my finger in the air after finishing my bite of cereal.

"Nuh-Uh, We have to wait for Mama to take us, and you don't even know the way, do you?" I said, making Nik sweat drop.

"Eh," he muttered. "Of course I know the way! It's on street...On street...Street...ACK! You think you've won, little kid! YOU HAVE NOT!" I frowned at the "Little kid" part, but eventually let it go. Mama and Daddy were laughing at us, both sitting next to each other while eating. Eventually, they both finished eating, and Mama volunteered to take us, since she went the most. Daddy faked coughed.

"Book Worm," he muttered under his breath.

"WHAT WAS THAT SOUL?" Mama yelled at him while Nik and I snickered in the background.

"N-Nothing!" Daddy exclaimed.

"That's what I thought," Mama said, straightening her shirt, and walking out the door, beckoning for us to follow her. I waved goodbye to Daddy, who was listening to the radio, mumbling on about how he wished there were TV's here. Mama gave me a little white jacket to cover my head, but I didn't want it, since I wasn't afraid, but Mama got sad whenever someone made fun of me, so I did it anyways. I worked. People passe by without a second glance. On the way, I saw a small candy shop. I really wanted to got there. Nik followed my gaze and smiled.

"Mama?" I asked.

"Yes?"

"I f we're good, can we go there?" I pointed to the candy shop. Mama smiled and nodded.

"But only if your good, and if you practice Alchemy and being a Meister." I nodded eagerly. We soon got to the Library and Mama smiled at our reactions.

"It's _GINORMOUS!" _Nik and I said in unison. I was so excited. We already knew a lot about Alchemy, and could perform it well, and this was taking it to a whole new level. I just _had _to be the first person, to ever be able to do Puppetry Alchemy. I heard that it wasn't very popular since no one could do it, (From Daddy) and lots of people didn't even know of it. We all walked up the marble steps, and Mama held open the big glass doors for us. Nik thanked her, excitement coming off of his in waves. Not many people knew of using Alchemy for your body, either. Nik only knew the basics of it. All three of us began looking for books, and Mama didn't know that we were looking for Alchemy books, especially Puppetry Alchemy books. We told her that we were going to look somewhere else in the Library when she suddenly saw a book that she liked, and immediately sat down and began reading it. But we couldn't find the Alchemy books anywhere, since the library was so big, and it was our first time coming here. We eventually resorted to asking for help. We walked to the front desk (Which took us forever to find..) and saw a lady with short black hair.

"Excuse me?" I asked the lady. I was short, but I could clearly see desk that she was at. Nik's was_seriously _taller than me,

"Oh! Yes?" She politely said.

"Do you know where the Alchemy books are? Me and my cousin are soon-to-be Alchemists!" I exclaimed as the lady smiled.

"Yes, I know where they are! My son loves Alchemy, but he has problems drawing the circle...Anyways, this away!" She said, beckoning for us to follow her, which we gladly did.

"My name's Mary-Beth, by the way," she told us as we neared two white bookshelves that were in the far left side of the Library. "Here they are!" Mary-Beth said proudly, with her hands on her hips.

"Thanks!" I exclaimed as Nik ran to the books and immediately took one out. He examined it for a moment, then put it back, taking out another. Mary-Beth looked at me.

"May...May I ask why you have your hood up?" I smiled up at her, and jerked my hood off. Her eyes widened at the sight of my white hair. "H-How...?" I kept smiling.

"My Daddy has white hair, and I got it. My Mama doesn't want me to show my hair that much, 'cause people bother me about it." After she left, I pulled my hood back up and went over to Nik, who was deep in another book. I grinned and crouched down next to him.

"Find anything?" I asked him.

"HOLY CRAP!" Nik yelled. "You freaking scared me!" I rolled my eyes.

"You didn't answer my question," I muttered.

"Oh! Nope, I didn't find nothing about what we're looking for. Mostly how to make Transmutation Circles and- Hm? What's this? Human...Transmutation?" Nik then began reading it, and after a few minutes, he looked back up at me.

"Human Transmutation is the operation of bringing people back to life. It says it's a giant taboo. Humph. Who'd be stupid enough to try and bring someone back from the dead? It says no ones ever actually done it." Nik simply put up the book then stood up and dusted off his pants.

"What're you doing, Nik?" He looked at me as if I was stupid.

"There's not much Alchemy books, and by the time you sat down, I was on the last book on these shelves. So that means," Nik put his index finger up to his chin and looked up, thinking. I got an idea.

"Oh! I know! Restricted Area!" I exclaimed with my arms up. Nik looked at me weirdly.

"What? There's no-" I cut him off by standing up, then grabbing his shoulders and turning towards a small brown door that had the words 'RESTRICTED-MANAGER ONLY'.

"Oh," Nik muttered. "I'm an idiot," I smiled as I skipped ahead of him, towards the door.

"Yup," I said loudly so that he could hear me. I was already at the door, waiting. Nik glared at me.

"Hey!" Nik said, and I simply kept smiling. I tried opening the door, only to fail miserably. It was locked. Nik came up behind me.

"Duh it's gonna be locked, SmartTart," Nik said, laughing.

"Don't call me that!" He rolled his eyes. My eyes widened, and I began looking through my hair with my hands.

"What're you doing? You look like some deranged gorilla trying to get fleas out of it's fur," Nik retorted, and I rolled my eyes. '**Found it!' **I thought as I pulled a thin bobby pin that I had put in my hair yesterday, and I'd forgot about it.

"Why...?" Nik trailed off, dumbfounded. I ignored Nik and reached over to pick the lock. I jiggled it in the key lock a few times, and it _clicked, _then I pushed it open, grinning in triumph.

"Where did you learn that? I wanna learn!" Nik exclaimed. I smiled up at him innocently.

"Daddy taught me!" I told him, walking inside, Nik behind me with his hands behind his head. I mentally screamed in delight. There were just a few books, and you could tell that the Manager rarely came in here, judging from all of the dust covering the very few shelves and probably the books. We immediately began looking through the books; I started on the books on the right side, and Nik started on the books from the left side. I eventually got bored and began looking somewhere else; in the 'P's, where Puppetry Alchemy should be. I eventually skimmed though all of those and slumped down on the ground, not knowing what to do next. Meanwhile, Nik was looking in the 'M's, for Muscles. A few minutes later, Nik put up a book and sighed.

"Nope. No books on Muscle Alchemy," Nik said to me. "A lot of their titles start with 'N'. That's weird," I gasped. I'd figured it out.

"Nik! Look in the 'N's, instead!" I exclaimed. He was about to protest, but I quickly shooed him off. A few minutes later, he jumped up and down giddily. I nearly cracked up at the scene.

"I...I found it! Thanks Lea!" I smiled at him before standing up and running over to the 'K's, immediately beginning to flip through the first one.

"Why're you looking through the 'K's?" Nik asked, clutching the book at his side.

"'Cause the opposite of 'P', is 'K'. The opposite of 'M' is 'N'. Get it?' He looked at me, slightly stumped, but after a few moments, he realized what I meant. A few minutes later, Nik offered to help find it, and I eventually did, and it was really dusty. I blew it off, inspecting it, and saw that the title was 'How to Perform and Understand Puppetry Alchemy'. I found that...weird. I had thought Daddy said that no one could perform it.(Yet.) I flipped the book to the first page, which was blank. I flipped to the next page. It was blank, too. This time, _I _was stumped. Nik snapped me out of my daze.

"Hey look! There's another one! He held out a white leather book, with the words, 'The Concept of Puppetry Alchemy', in black. I opened it to a random page. It was blank, too! I sat down, laying both of the books open on the floor. Nik was off reading his new book, and I was trying to figure out what was wrong with these books. I was worried. '**What if I'm not able to learn about Puppetry Alchemy?' **That one thought scared me. I shook it off and went back the the books. I soon found out that there was no name on the front to tell me who wrote it on both books, and all of the pages were blank. I got frustrated and slammed both my hands down on both of the books. When I lifted them, still agitated, I saw, _words!_ I flipped through all of the pages, and luckily, all of the words were there! I thought I was hallucinating. I asked Nik to come over to where I was, and he did.

"What?" Nik asked, standing over me.

"This book, it-" I was cut off by a booming voice, as Nik quickly threw down his book, which I grabbed and, along with my books, stuffed into my dress (which had a pocket on the inside that was hard to notice), unknowingly to the person who had just came in.

"Why are you in here? This area is restricted!" '**Crap.' **A man with a business suit and a bald head was glaring at us from across the room. Nik nudged me with his foot, and I nodded, and me and Nik got ready to fool this old man. I started crying, and Nik plastered a worried look on his face. It was all fake though. '**These people are so easy to fool,' **I thought, while 'crying'. Nik then took over.

"I'm so sorry Mister, me and my younger sister, Nicole, lost our Mother, and Nicole wanted to look in here for her, I'm so sorry, please forgive us," Nik told the man, bowing. I lowered my voice to a small whimper. Everyone knew that I could easily pass for a little six year old, even me.

"Big Brover?" I asked Nik.

"Yes?" He replied, looking at me with sorrow. I could just see the smirk in his eyes.

"Are we in twoble?" (Trouble) That cracked 'em. He rushed over to me.

"No, of course not!" He told me, kneeling in front of me. I stood up.

"Really? I thought so." I told him, smirking. I had to admit, I was quite a rebel. I kneed him in the stomach, and he must've been really weak, since I hardly used any force. Nik leaned over him.

"Mister?" Nik said.

"Y-yes?"

"You've just been owned. By an eight year old," Nik told him as I gave him the peace sign. He groaned and closed his eyes for a minute, and me and Nik choose that time to run. But before I did, I said, "You're stupid." He quickly jumped up and I 'eep'ed, running. Nik was already out the door, yelling for me to hurry up. I quickly obliged, as I slammed the door shut behind me and grabbed a spare chair, then put it underneath the door handle, so that he couldn't get out.

"Okay! Let's go!" I yelled, running past Nik, towards where I thought Mom might be. I was right, she was at the 'Popular Books' section. She heard me coming, and looked at us curiously.

"C'mon Mama, we've gotta go, like, now!" I exclaimed, stopping. That resulted in Nik crashing oh-so-cartoonish, make us both face-plant into the rough carpet. _That _resulted in Mama laughing at us. Nik eventually explained what had happened (Once he got off of me), and her reaction wasn't pleasant.

"You know what?" Mama asked, in a sickly-sweet tone of voice, smiling eerily. "You aren't ever coming back here. Ever," My eyes widened.

"NO! This can't be happening, all my hopes and dreams," I said, now on my hands and knees, clutching my heart. "Crushed. By my very own Mother," I then began fake crying. I was cut short, though.

"What're you doing, Azalea?" I looked up to see Al. The tears immediately disappeared, and I jumped up and smiled.

"Hiya Al! What's up?" Nik sweat dropped at my sudden change in character. Al smiled back at me, with a few books in his hands. They were Alchemy books.

"Ah, nothing much. Just stocking up on Alchemy books with Brother. Our friend Winry came, too!" Just then, two blond headed people, one, a boy with darker blond hair than the others, and I automatically knew he was Al's brother. The other person, a girl, had short light blond hair, and I could tell she was really shy.

"Hi! I'm-" I was cut off by Nik.

"Um, Lee?" He said, pointing over to the door which held the very angry man. The chair which held the door shut was shaking, and a staff member was cautiously approaching it. I gasped.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" I screamed. She looked at me, startled, then scampered off. I smirked in triumph. They all looked at me weirdly.

"Don't ask," Nik told them, sighing. I was worried. Worried that Mama would get in trouble for what me and Nik did. I was anxious to get out. I decided to tell Nik, in a way that Al or his friends couldn't understand.

"Sono otoko wa Nikku nukeru baai wa dō narimasu ka? Mama wa toraburu ni narunode, ishi no Al oyobi kare no yūjin ni narimasu! Uwa, watashi wa shinpaidesu... (What if that guy gets out Nik? Mama will get in trouble, so will Al and his friends! Ugh, I'm worried...)" I muttered, but Al and the others heard, but no one said anything, not even Mama. They just looked at us curiously. Nik nodded.

"Watashi-tachi wa hayaku, koko o hanareru morawanaku, shitte iru. Otōsan ga dete mitsukatta baai, kare ga watashi o koroshite yaru! (I know, we gotta get outta here, fast. If Dad finds out, he'll kill me!)" He said, and Mama heard, and smirked.

"Heck yeah he will," Mama told Nik, he shivered and hid behind me. I rolled my eyes.

"So, you must be Edward Elric," I said, pointing at the boy with the golden hair, and matching eyes. "And you're Winry, right?" I smiled. "I'm Azalea Eater Albarn. And this guy over here, is Nikolai Death Nakatsukasa! You can call him Nik, though!" Winry looked terrified at our middle names, and Edward was just shocked. Nik laughed. If you think our names are weird, you should hear our Dads' names," he said, and I nodded.

"Yup! Niks' Dads' name is Death the Kid, and my Dads' name is Soul 'Eater' Evans!" I told them. Now they were all scared.

"I...think you said too much," Mama said, sighing, deep in a book. Again. I laughed sheepishly.

"Sorry~" Nik and I said in unison.

Eventually, Winry and I hit it off, and were talking about random little things. I'd asked her if they all were the same age as me and Nik, and she said that her and Edward were, but Al was a year younger. Meanwhile, Nik, Al, and Edward were talking, and when Nik mentioned Alchemy, I jumped in, leaving Winry in a daze.

"Yeah, Brother, you should've seen Azalea and Nikolai fight! It was so cool! Nik was using Alchemy without a circle and so was Azalea! Well, I mean, they had the Circle on them, but still, it was amazing, Brother! And the coolest thing was when Azalea used Alchemy to push Nik far away from her! She won, too!" Al told Edward excitedly, while Edward was staring at us in awe. I scratched my head sheepishly, not liking the attention.

"Well, um, yeah, I guess you could-" I was cut off.

"YOU!" The booming voice was coming from the Restricted Area. '**Freaking son of a Flying Mint Bunny!' **The man had gotten out of the room, and was red with rage, sweat trailing down his face. Me and Nik looked at each other for only a millisecond.

"Everyone, _run!"_ Nik yelled, clapping his hands together and putting them on his thighs and calves. He was using Alchemy to enhance his legs. It hardly worked though, since he barely knew anything about it. He threw me on his back and sprinted. Luckily I didn't weigh much. Mama simply looked at us as if she didn't even know us. I frowned. '**Jeeze, Mama, your so kind,' **I thought sarcastically, glaring quickly at Edward, Al, and Winry. Winry was falling behind. I gritted my teeth. I couldn't do anything. Nik had me in a death grip, and neither Edward or Al had noticed yet. I took my hands off of Nik.

"Go down this hallway!" Nik yelled, realising that Winry was falling back. When we did, I told him to drop me (Which he did, thankfully), and I clapped my hands so that I could form a wall between us and that man. When I did i make it to where I could put a window in it, and began making faces at him, and the others all joined in, except Al and Winry, who were both scolding us on doing that. We ignored them, though. Edward was licking his finger and sticking it on his butt (AN: Lol, I wrote 'butt' :D), making a 'sss' sound, while me and Nik were making faces and waving our arms around.

"Stop!" Winry said.

"Hammer Time!" I responded to Winry, sticking my hand out in front of me. Nik started laughing while everyone else looked at us weirdly. "What?" I asked. Edward pointed behind me, scared. I didn't even have a chance to look before we heard the shatter of glass. I looked behind me, to see the mans arm sticking in through the window that I'd put in the wall.

"EEEP!" I said, clutching onto Niks' arm. We took that time to run, since the wall wasn't that strong, since I wasn't _that _good at Alchemy, and it was only made out of the same material as the walls in the Library. We eventually found a big window, and Al opened it up, and we all jumped out, me being last. I landed on Al, who had landed on Nik. Edward was already up, and Winry was giggling.

"What?" Al asked her. Winry just kept laughing.

"You...You should have seen the look on Azalea's face!" She said, and Edward nodded.

"Yeah! It was hilarious! She was like, 'EEP'!" Edward laughed, and I glared at them.

"Hey! It wasn't that funny!"

"Yeah, it was," Nik said, joining in. I then felt a tingling in the back of my head. It felt like an itch that I couldn't itch.

**'_They're making fun of you, Azalea. Don't you want to show them who's boss? Make it to where they won't ever make fun of you, ever again.' _**The voice sounded a lot like Zales' voice. It _was_Zale!

'**What?' **I thought back to her. **'Why would I want to hurt them, Zale? They're my friends!' **Zale chuckled.

'**_Silly, silly, girl. You can't deny it, Azalea. You're hiding it. You're hiding that feeling, and you don't even realise it! That feeling, well, feelings, are anger, sadness, and...Insanity,' _**Zale told me, and laughed. Her voice slowly faded, and I was alone in my thoughts again.

**'What? I...I'm not crazy! Am I? No! But what if I am? Well, Mama was talking to Daddy about the 'Black Blood' that I have and how it eventually consumes all of your normal blood, and you go insane! But that doesn't explain the other things she said. I'm not Angry at anyone! And I'm not sad at all! I'm completely happy! But, but what if I-' **I was jolted out of my thoughts by Edward. I had bumped into him and fell over. Edward smiled.

"Told ya! She did _too _have her head in the clouds!" Edward told everyone, who were all behind him. I jumped up and stomped my foot.

"Did not!" I growled. Edward simply smirked.

"Did too,"

"Did not,"

"Did. Too,"

"I did NOT!"

"Yeah you did!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did too!" I yelled, tricking him.

"Did not!" Edward yelled, then realised that I'd tricked him.

"Hey! you tricked me! No fair!" I smirked.

"It was too fair! Your the one who, who...Wait, what were we talking about?" I asked him, the others all looking at us. Edward shrugged.

"I dunno," he said, making Nik sigh. Edward walked over to Nik and Al, while I skipped to Winry. After a little while, Winry mention how her Granny owned an Automail shop, and how she wa learning the basics on how to make Automail.

"Wait," I said, making Winry turn her head to me. "What's Automail?" Winrys eyes widened and I felt something change in her.

"What do you mean 'What's Automail'? Where have you been your whole life, locked up in your house?" I scratched my head sheepishly.

"Eh...Um.." Nik cut me off, thankfully.

"Kinda," he said, laughing. "This is the first time our parents let us out of the house! Uh...I don't know why they don't let us out of our house, though." Winry looked guilty and blushed a bright red.

"U-Uh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." Tears began forming in her eyes. I hugged her and backed away, smiling.

"Don't worry! Everything's okie dokie OK!" I told her, giving her the 'Thumbs up', and she laughed, and so did Nik.

"That's the most stupidest thing I've ever seen you do, probably more stupid than yesterday, when you came up with that _brilliant _idea, and you almost-" I cut Nik off by clamping my hand over his mouth.

"Anata wa baka! Mama a sono koto nitsune hanasanai yō ni itta! Wareware wa dare ka ni itta toki, kanojo wa wareware ga kizutsuku kanō-sei ga aru toyuu! (You idiot! Mama said not to talk about it, she said that we could get hurt if we tell someone!)" I yelled at him in Japanese, attracting a lot of unwanted attention. I was afraid. I was afraid that Nik would accidentally tell someone and get hurt, both mentally and physically. We had known each other since I was two and Nik was four. We've been inseparable since, and I couldn't bear it if something happened to him.

"Gomen..." Nik replied. I sighed. We were nearing our house, which was on a dirt road, pretty far away from the stores and stuff.

"Wow..Your house is pretty far from the library, you don't even have any neighbors!" I nodded.

"Yup, we can make all the noise we want, even light fireworks, and no one else is able to see them!" Just then, something nudged my foot, and I fell flat on my face, making everyone laugh.

"Hey! Who tripped me?" I growled. "'Cause whoever did is gonna get...hurt..." I looked behind me to see a gun, right where I tripped.

"AH! A gun! Don't touch it!" Winry yelled, hiding behind a telephone pole that was nearby. I ignored her and picked it up anyway. I could feel a soul wavelength pulsing through it. Yeah, me and Nik learned how to feel and see soul wavelengths a long time ago. I even learned how to see souls, but I rarely used it.

"Um, Nik? Come here for a moment," I told him. He did, and we asked to be excused for a moment. We walked over to the overgrowth that was on the side of the road and I held the gun sideways. I'd recognized this soul.

"Aunt Lizzie? Why aren't you with Uncle Kid?" I asked cautiously, and getting no answer at first. I'd thought that Uncle Kid was out destroying Kishin, because for some strange reason, Kishin were here, too. The gun began shaking.

"SONO BAKA! Kare wa ikutsu ka no ki-shin ga tatakatte ita, to kare wa chōdo watashi o otoshita! Watashi wa baka o shinjiru koto ga dekinai! Watashi wa kimitachi ga kite mitanode, watashi wa modotte henkō shite inainode, watashi wa chōdo anata ga teishi shite watashi o mukae no omou yō ni anata o torippu! Ā, watashi wa kare ni watashi no te o shutoku suru toki ni...! (AN-This means 'That idiot! He was fighting some Kishin, and he just dopped me! I can't believe the idiot! I didn't change back because I saw you guys coming, so I just tripped you so that you'd stop and pick me up! Oh, when I get my hands on him...!')" I sighed at Aunt Lizzie's ranting, but then Nik and I both gasped at what she said. '**Uncle Kid might be in trouble!' **I thought to myyself, clenching my hands. Nik looked even worse, since this was his own father we were talking about. He looked so angry, was gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. I wouldn't be surprised if his palms started bleeding. Aunt Lizzie noticed this and changed back into her human form.

"Ah, I forgot to mention...he dropped me _after _he defeated the Kishin!" Aunt Lizzie told him sheepishly. Nik blinked. Once. Twice.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT EARLIER? MY GOD, I ALMOST CHANGED I WAS SO UPSET!" I inched away from Nik.

"H-Hey, be happy that Uncle Kid's okay!" I told him, holding my hands up in defense. Nik sighed and crossed his arms.

"Fine. C'mon, Al, Ed, and Winry are waiting for us. They might get bored and leave. That can't happen! We just met them!" Nik said, and I smacked him on the head, Aunt Lizzie laughing.

"They won't leave us! You know I hate it when people are underestimated!" I growled at him. I then ran ahead of Nik and Aunt Lizzie, to Edward, Al, and Winry. They were just standing there awkwardly, not knowing what to do. I waved at them, and they immediately noticed me.

"Oh, hey Azalea!" Al said, running up to me just as Nik and Aunt Lizzie came out of the bushes. "And...Who is she?" Al asked. Aunt Lizzie smirked at them and told him, with Edward and Winry listening,

"I'm Nik and Azalea's Aunt. They brought me that gun, and it turns out, it belongs to one of my co-workers!" They all nodded, believing her little lie. They didn't even question how Nik and I knew that Aunt Lizzie was in the bushes and trees. Aunt Lizzie then led the way to our house.

"Why're we going to your house? We know the way to our house, and Mom might be worried," Edward suddenly asked. I smiled.

"'Cause Uncle Star was supposed to pick Nik up today, and he will probably be at our house, waiting. He knows your guy's Mama, so she can come pick you up!" I told Edward, and he nodded, smiling. I then opened the white wooden gate to our front yard, and was immediately picked up and slung over someones shoulder. I screamed in surprise. I looked up, and saw that it was Uncle Star. I also saw that Uncle Kid had Nik over his shoulder. I lifted my head up a little, and saw the confused faces of Edward, Winry and Al. I sighed at the exact time as Aunt Lizzie. I tilted my head and waved at Winry. She awkwardly waved back, as Uncle Star opened and closed the door, cutting off my connection with Winry. I crossed my arms and huffed as I was thrown on the couch, along with Nik. My Daddy appeared, and began lecturing us.

"Azalea! Nikolai! We were all worried about you guys! Maka called us, and had no clue where you were! She said that you just disappeared!" I laughed at that.

"That's because Mama was too busy reading a book," I told him, Nik nodding. Daddy sighed.

"Figures," he said, Uncle Star laughing, and Uncle Kid telling him to shut up.

"Anyways, what happened? Maka told us to ask you to find out," Uncle Star butted in. Nik sighed, and explained to them what happened. They all just laughed.

"Well," Uncle Star said, standing up from his spot on the couch. "They're pretty good. But not as good as..." I plugged my ears. "THE ONE AND ONLY, BLACK STAR! COME, I SHALL TEACH YOU HOW TO BE LIKE ME!" Me and Nik quickly jumped up, and ran towards the door.

"Um, no thanks!" I told him, opening the door and shutting it behind me, sighing. I then saw Auntie Lizzie sitting on a bench on the front porch.

"Where's everyone?" Nik asked her, and she pointed towards the tree that we literally destroyed. Winry was poking it while Edward was inspecting it, and Al was just standing there, confused. I laughed, and ran towards them.

"Hey guys!" I exclaimed, as if nothing was wrong.

"What the heck happened here?" Edward asked suspiciously. I started playing with my fingers nervously. I didn't know what to say or do. Nik noticed this.

"Lightning! Lightning hit it _three times _in that storm last week. Cool, huh?" Nik told them smugly. Edward was shocked.

"Cool," he said. I then walked over to Al, grabbed his hand, and dragged him, along with everyone else, to the tree house. Everyone climbed up the ladder, me being last, since I had a dress on. We all got up, and Winry, Nik, and Al went to one table, and me and Edward went to the other one.

"Wanna draw a picture?" I asked Edward, holding out a box of crayons for him, since there were lots of different crayons, markers, and pens. He took it, and also took out a piece of paper, and began to draw. I smiled and took out some colored pencils and paper. About five minutes later, I stopped drawing. Nik, Al, and Winry, were behind us laughing and talking, while me and Edward were silent.

"Edward? How do you spell your name?" I asked him. He glanced over at me, and kept drawing.

"It's E-D-W-A-R-D. And you don't have to call me Edward, you can just call me Ed," he told me. I smiled.

"Okay. Ed," I said, finishing up my drawing. "I done!" I held the picture up to him. It have five little stick figures playing hide and seek. Two were next to each other behind a tree, one with white hair and wearing a little dress, and one with messy-ish golden hair and matching eyes. They were labeled with 'Ed and Me'. Another one labeled 'Winry' was peeking it's head out of the tree house, one labeled 'Al' was hiding behind a bush. And the last one was 'It' and it was labeled 'Nik'. Edward smiled.

"Cool! I bet Nik would've found Al first," he said, and I laughed.

"Here, you can have it!" I told him, and handing it over. He took it, folded it up, and put it in his pocket. "What did you draw, Ed?" I asked, looking over his shoulder. It was a picture of Ed and I, sitting at the same table that we were sitting at now, drawing. I smiled.

"It...It's nothing much," Ed told me, looking over to the side and blushing. I laughed. Just then, Uncle Kid poked his head in, and we all turned our heads to look at him.

"Hey. Your guys," he gestured towards Al and Ed. "Mom's here," When Ed and Al heard that, they jumped up and quickly climbed down the ladder, with me, Nik and Winry following behind, though not as fast. Ms. Elric was standing on the front porch steps, smiling, while holding a basket of what looked like green apples. Ed and Al saw her and sped up, with Ed slightly ahead. Ed ran into her, and hugged her. Soon after, Al did the same. All three of them were smiling. We approached them, and Trisha offered us a green apple. I quickly obliged and took one, Nik and Winry doing the same. Ed and Al let go of her, and looked at us jealously, since there weren't any apples left. I stuck my tongue out at them, and Nik smirked.

"Okay, it's time to go home, Edward, Alphonse," Trisha told them, smiling. "Granny Pinako is wait for you at our house, Winry," They all nodded happily, and walked to the little wooden gates. They looked back at us and waved, and we waved back. I even jumped on Nik's back so that I could wave higher than Nik. He didn't know that, though. I kept waving until we couldn't see them anymore. We they were gone, we both frowned, and Nik looked up at me.

"Our parents are never gonna let us leave the house again," he said in defeat, and I nodded, jumping off of him, and landing gracefully on my feet..

"Ya got that right!" Nik and I slowly to the voice, and Mama stood there-with two _dictionaries _in her hands. She glared at us murderously, and I flinched. She then raised both the dictionaries above her head, and flung them. At us.

"MAKA~~ CHOP!" Both of the books hit us straight in the heads, and we went flying.

"A...Abuse..." I muttered.

"WHAT WAS THAT?"

"N-Nothing,"

-Time skip-6 Years later-Azalea:14 Nikolai:16-

"Yes! Nik, we did it!" I yelled, looking down at Nik's Death Weapon form, as I threw him up in the air, and he changed back into his human form. I skipped over to Dad's unconscious form, and nudged him with my foot. He tried to swat it away. Today, on my 14th birthday, Nik and I had sparred Dad and Mama, and miraculously won. I got quite a few presents, but the one from Uncle Death was at his house. He told me that it was already wrapped and had my name on it. I pulled out my messy ponytail (My hair had grown to my shoulder blades), panting, as Uncle Kid, Star, Auntie Pat-Pat, Aunt Tsusi, and Aunt Lizzie all cheered. Since it was my birthday, we were having a giant cookout. Winry and Pinako couldn't come, they were working on automail legs for an old man.

'**I hope Ma and Dad'll let me go to Winry's house! Then I'll tell them how I oh-so-awesomely beat up my parents,' **I thought. Why, you ask, aren't I wanting to go to Ed and Al's house? Well, that's a difficult question. They just disappeared when I was twelve, and neither Pinako or Winry _or _anyone else will tell me what happened. It irks me. Nik tapped me on the shoulder.

"Oi (Hey). They're waking up," he told me. He was wearing a simple pair of denim jeans and a blue t-shirt. I was just wearing some shorts and an oversized green t-shirt, which I tied with a hair-tie in the back. Just as Nik said, Ma and Dad were waking up. Ma had quite a few scratches on her, and I instantly felt guilty. If Dad knew this, he'd probably be mad. He taught me everything he knew, and that included not being weak. Uncle Star, Ma, Uncle Kid, Aunt Tsusi, Auntie Pat-Pat, and Aunt Lizzie also taught me. I'd destroyed sixteen Kishin so far, and counting.

"Good job Azalea," Ma and Dad said, then, realizing that they talked in unison, glared at each other and looked away. Mom, getting over it first, stood up, smiled, and gave me the 'thumbs up' sign. Dad also got up.

"No fair. You're stronger than your own Dad! And you're fourteen!" He said dramatically. I just smirked.

"Hey!" Nik yelled. "What about me? I'm the weapon here, see?" He pointed to himself, and I then yelled also.

"Hey! What's wrong with being fourteen? Don't you _dare _underestimate me, or I'll kick your butt,_again!" _Mom rolled her eyes.

"Hey, Mom-" I started, but was cut off.

"Yes, you and Nik can go over to Winry's house," Mom told us.

"Yes! Thanks, Mom! We won't be out too long!" I told her, and began walking towards the sidewalk, with Nik at my side.

"Oh," Mama said abruptly, making me turn around. "Here," she threw me a necklace, and I caught it. It was a white rock with little green specks in it. I looked at Mom confused.

"What's it for? Is it _another _birthday present? I don't need anymore, I've got plenty!" Mom just laughed.

"Kinda. But, It's a very special necklace, and you can't ever lose it, and try not to take it off. Oh, yeah. It's to control the Black Blood. You'll hardly ever lose it, and it makes the spreading go very slow. Like, it'll consume only 5-10 blood cells a year. So keep it on!" She told me as I slipped it on. It was long enough to put it underneath my shirt, but I didn't. We then waved goodbye, and left.

When we finally reached Winry's house, her dog, Den, ran up to us. I pet him, while Nik stayed away. Nik just didn't like dogs, and I didn't know why.

"Oh! Hey guys! I knew you'd come!" I looked up, and Winry was on her front porch, wiping her oil coated hands on her light purple pants. Den ran away from me, and towards her.

"Oh, hey Winry," Nik muttered, still wary of Den. I grinned.

"WINNIE!" I yelled, running up to her, and we did our hand shake. It was a simple hand shake. All we did was two sideways high-fives (one with my right hand, and one with my left hand), then bang both of our fists together, and lastly, put our finger below our eye and stick our tongue out, making a 'Bleh' sound. It was stupid, we both knew it, and we made it up when we were nine, and Ed always wanted to do it, but we never let him. Nik rolled his eyes when we were finished.

"That's stupid," he told us with his arms crossed.

"Your just jealous!" I exclaimed, and skipped inside with Winry before we could hear him yell, "Am not!". When we were inside (Including Nik), Pinako simply told us to sit down at the dining room table. We did, and as soon as I did, a present (Which was wrapped in pink and green polka-dotted wrapping paper) was set down in front of me by Winry. I sheepishly laughed. I'd gotten so many presents, that I started to hate them.

"E-eh, you don't have-" I was cut off, by Nik.

"She'd love them, Winry," he said, smirking. I glared at him. He didn't even acknowledge me. I sighed, and began opening the present in defeat. It was a whole bunch of pomegranate scented, well, everything. Pomegranate scented candles, shampoo, soap, air freshener and conditioner. I smiled.

"Thanks! Winry, Pinako, your like a...Third family!" Nik sweat dropped.

"A what?" Pinako asked.

"A third family! Since I already have a first and second family, my second family being Uncle Star, Uncle Kid, Aunt Tsusi, Auntie Pat-Pat, and Aunt Lizzie, so your my _third _family!" I laughed, along with Winry and Pinako. I put the things back in the box it came in.

"So, would you like to see the Automail legs?" Pinako asked Nik and I. "We just finished them." I nodded.

"Sure!" Pinako and Winry then led us down into a basement, where there were tools, wires, metal, and it also smelled like oil. Pinako stopped in the middle of the room to let us look around, while Winry went, probably to get the Automail legs. I was right. A few minutes later, Winry came back, dragging in two metal legs, which were obviously pretty heavy. Nik and I both reached out to help her, but she shook us off and set them down on the table behind us.

"There they are!" Winry said, breathing slightly heavier than usual.

"Cool!" Nik and I said at the same time, amazed.

"You helped with this?" Nik asked Winry, and Pinako answered for her.

"Actually, she did most of it. She put the right gears in, put the wires in, and basically did all of the metal plating," Winry proudly smiled.

"Yup! I'll be the best at making Automail, as soon as I get a mentor..." Winry trailed off in thought. I smiled.

We talked for a while, and Winry and Pinako taught us the basics of Automail_. _They even showed us the inside of an automail arm. It had a whole bunch of wires and bolts in it. Nik was really beginning to like Automail (AN::This is what I think Ed would say to this::Ed: "Aw crap, not _another _Automail freak!" lol). We didn't even realize that it the sun was already beginning to set.

"Crappers! Look!" I said to Nik, pointing out the window. His eyes widened. "Mom's gonna be so mad! We have to go, Winry, Pinako! Bye!" Winry waved and smiled as I pulled Nik up the stairs and out the front door. We ran and ran, until we _had _to stop to catch our breath.

"We...have to hurry...I really...don't want to be...Maka Chopped..." I panted to Nik, who just nodded in agreement, also breathing heavily. Something then rustled in the bushes. I began walking towards it, not scared at all. Nik saw me.

"Hey! Don't go near it! It could be a Kishin or something!" I shrugged. I parted the bushes where the noise came from to see a cute little fox/cat. Only it wasn't a fox. It's fur was blond, and it's eyes were bright turquoise. Only that wasn't the problem. It had _three _tails! My eyes widened, and the little cat cocked it's head at me innocently. My lip quivered.

"Kawaii...(Cute)" I muttered, and scooped it up in my arms. It snuggled into my arms and fell asleep. I showed her (I just checked..) to Nik, and he freaked out.

"What the _hell _is that thing?" I glared at him.

"_She _is very kind, and the three tails is probably just a mutation of some sort. So I'm gonna keep him!" I grinned, and skipped ahead of Nik, who followed me, sighing. We walked for a while before we noticed the smoke. The smoke that was coming directly from the spot where we lived. Nik saw it first.

"Azalea! Look!" Nik said, pointing at it. I turned my head and saw it. The kitty (Which I named Spirit) saw that we were tense and slipped in my shirt, and It looked as if she wasn't even there. I glared ahead.

"Nik, transform," I told him seriously. He nodded and changed into his Death Weapon form. I grabbed him as he was falling in slung him over my shoulder. I checked to make sure Spirit was okay, then I sprinted towards home, which wasn't that far. And trust me, I feared the worst. On the outside, I looked fierce and serious, but in the inside, I was scared and worried. I neared the road that my house was on, and nearly broke down right there. My entire house was engulfed in flames. I even felt Nik shiver. I stopped.

**'Okay, I bet there's a firetruck or something, and everyones fine, right?' **I thought to myself, and looked over the driveway. No firetruck. No nothing. That meant one thing. My entire family was in the house. I dropped Nik (Who changed back and followed me) and ran to my house. I ignored my hurting legs, and pushed the door open. Luckily, I had gloves on, so it didn't really hurt. I turned to see Nik behind me, but I didn't acknowledge him. I ran into the living room, or what looked like it. It was hot, and hard to breath. There were flames everywhere.** 'They should've ran out, right?' **I question Zale.

'**_I don't know. Just keep looking around, just in case," _**She replied. I ran into the dining room, then the kitchen, where something almost exploded in my face.

"Watch out!" Yelled Nik as he grabbed me and we tumbled to the floor. I coughed and struggled to get back up, tears in my eyes. Nik got back up faster than me, and helped me get up. I stumbled upstairs, and peeked my head into my bedroom. No one. I then turned around and glanced into the bathroom, nobody there.

'**One last place. If they aren't in here, then we'll leave,' **I ran up to the door to my parents bedroom, before coughing terribly. The door was shut. I put my hands on the door knob, and turned it. It was stuck. There was probably something in the way, like a piece of burning wood.

"Nik," I coughed, "Help, with...this," It was really getting hard to breath now. He ran up to me and shoved all his weight on it a couple times, on the fourth time, we both finally got it to open. I stumbled in the room, and screamed. There, strewn everywhere on the floor, were the mutilated bodies of Mom, Dad, Aunt Tsusi, Auntie Pat-Pat, Aunt Lizzie, Uncle Star, and Uncle Kid. Nik also screamed and fell to his knees. I heard my little kitten mewl. I ignored it, though.

"MOM! DAD! Everyone..." Nik crawled over to the bodies, and I did the same. (AN-I know, this is pretty gruesome. Sooorrrryy) Nik and I were both bawling over the bodies of our parents. I took the hand of my Mom, and cried even harder. We both then collapsed over our parents, getting blood all over us in the process. We didn't acknowledge one other, even though we were literally right next to each other. I hardly even heard the crack of the wood above us, but I did feel the burning wood that fell on both of our backs. I screamed. The last thing I saw before I slipped into unconsciousness, was a boy a little older than me, with dark green hair that looked oddly like a palm-tree, waving at me happily. I thought, no, I _knew _my life was over.

-Winry's POV-

I sighed. Azalea had forgotten her present that we gave her.

"Hey, I'll be right back Granny Pinako! Azalea forgot her present!" I half-yelled to her.

"Silly girl. Always forgetting things," she replied, and I laughed.

"Yeah," For some reason, I had a bad feeling that something was going to go wrong. I shrugged it off though, and walked out the door. I was walking on the sidewalk, humming to myself, when a firetruck, no, four firetrucks, came rushing past, their sirens flaring. I instantly got worried, since the firetrucks were heading directly for Azaleas' house. I started running.

I reached her street, and the air was filled with smoke. I could kinda see her house, and it was on fire. I started running even faster, only to be stopped by Military. I even saw some State Alchemists.

"Sorry Miss, you can't go past. We're taking care of it," An older man said to me, and held me back.

"But I _know _them! I can help! Just let me go! Please!" I exclaimed, tears free falling. I knew something was wrong, and I feared for all of their safety. The man looked at me sadly.

"I'm sorry, but no one's allowed past, and I can't tell you anything. Fuhrer's orders. You might as well go home," he said. I looked down, upset.

"No! I'll stay here and wait until I know that they're okay!" The man sighed and stopped talking to me. I sat down in the grass and clutched Azalea's present to my chest. I also stopped crying. I wouldn't believe it if they died. I wasn't really close to Nik and Azalea's family, I hardly knew them. But still.

-Roy's POV-

I was in Resembool to meet up with the other State Alchemist stationed there, after hearing about a murderer. He had never been seen, and evidence said that this is the most reasonable place he'd be. I had a wandering thought that it might just be a Homunculi. If it was, we'd have-

"Colonel Mustang! We have to go! There's a massive fire, and we've been called to go help!" A military office whose name I thought was...Eh, never mind, I've no clue what his name is. So I threw on my Military jacket and headed outside with the others. Outside, there were four black cars, and I jumped into the passenger seat of the second one. The driver was a man, probably of higher rank than me.

**'Oh, what I'd do to be a general...Snap out of it! Someone's in trouble!' **I glared ahead. I had to be serious. So I pushed all thoughts that had nothing to do with the task at hand and sat up straight.

When we got there, I was surprised to see just one house and the yard around it burned. I thought it would be more. The car parked a ways away from the house, and we walked towards it. I slipped under the 'DO NOT CROSS' sign and walked to the building. We stopped in front of seven lumps with white sheets (Which was bloodied) over them. I knew that they were bodies. There were also two children, unconscious, surrounded by doctors and firemen. I heard murmurs of things like 'Pulled 'em out of the rubble', 'They were hugging their dead relatives, even though they were dead," and 'They lost everyone. They only got each other. Such a pity.' I immediately felt sorry for them. I walked towards the two children. They both had ash all over them, and soot in their faces and hair-wait. That girl...White hair? Odd. She then suddenly stirred, and her eyes slammed open, and she quickly sat up and screamed.

"Get _away _from me! Get away, get away! Don't touch me! Mom! Dad! I want them back! Give them back! Please.." She yelled, and clutched her chest, coughing. I pushed through the small crowd around them, and put my hand on her shoulder reassuringly. I don't know what pushed me to do this this, but I felt a sort of...affection towards her and the boy, in a sort of fatherly way. She looked up at me, tears streaking her face. She looked to be twelve or maybe eleven, but I could tell that she was older. I bent down so that we were eye to eye.

"Who..Who are you?" She asked.

"Roy Mustang," I told her, dropping the 'Colonel' for once. "Don't worry, you'll be okay with me," I told her as she and her friend were being put on stretchers. "We're going to take you and your friend to get cleaned up at the hospital, okay?" She nodded slowly. I then took the time to look to see if she had any injuries, and there were _a lot._ She had many scratches all over, her left leg was oddly stiff, there was blood everywhere, and she looked utterly confused. I looked over to the boy, who flinched in his "sleep". "The boy," I started. "His name?" She looked at me oddly, not understanding.

"Oh. Nikolai. That's, that's his name," She looked over at him as a man began to push her away from Nikolai and I, and to an ambulance. Her eyes widened, and she began to struggle.

"NO! You can't take me away from them! I can't lose anyone else! Just STOP!" She yelled. The men around her quickly held her down, but she still struggled.

"She's having what appears to be some kind of breakdown," A lady with a clipboard said to me. I nodded and pushed through the crowd.

"Azalea, stop. You won't get any help if you don't stop," I told her. She immediately stopped and looked at me.

"O-Okay," Those were the last words she said to me before another man put a needle into her arm, making her fall asleep almost immediately. I sighed as I got into the car while they were still loading Nikolai and Azalea into the ambulance's. I then followed them all the way to the hospital. I even waited for them to tell me their injuries.

-3 Hours later...Still Roy's POV-

"Excuse me sir?" A man nudged me. I had fallen asleep. I looked up at him groggily, but immediately resumed my posture and sat upright.

"Yes?"

"I'm here to tell you their injuries," I nodded, and he took me down a hallway in front of the room that they were sharing. "The young lady has a bad concussion, along with a few broken ribs, and a very severely broken left leg. We are afraid that she will never walk again, unless it's amputated. She also has amnesia, and I'm not sure what she has forgotten," he flipped through his clipboard. "The boy also has amnesia. He has a broken left arm, but that will heal easily, along with a slight concussion and a twisted ankle. You are able to see them if you need, but there are still a few doctors healing up her wounds," he paused as four or five doctors came out of the room. "Or not," he said as I walked in with him behind me. Nikolai and Azalea both were awake, Azalea was laying down, and Nikolai was sitting up. Azalea looked at us.

"Cut it off," she told us simply as Nikolai looked over at her. "My left leg, of course. It's holding me back. Besides, I can get Automail," she said it so casually. The doctor replied for me.

"Are..Are you sure? I mean, your so young!" Azalea glared at him.

"So? I can deal with it! I deserve this pain!" She yelled, and from the look on Nikolai's face, he felt the same way. I looked at her confused.

"What do you mean?" I butted in. She clenched her fists and looked down.

"Mama," she choked on her words. "She said we could go somewhere, but I don't remember where, and she said to come before dark. We forgot, and were late. If I wasn't so _stupid, _they all could've been alive. It's all our fault!" She was now clutching the sheets, her tears dripping onto them.

"Very well then," The doctor said, sighing. Then some people pulled Nikolai out of the room, and Azalea was obviously pained about it. A few minutes later, they put a mask over her nose and mouth, and she fell asleep. More doctors then came in, and they ushered me out into the waiting room.

-Four-Five Hours Later...Azalea's POV-

I woke up, well kinda. I was overwhelmed with everything that had happened recently, and my whole body ached. Well, not all of it. I pulled back the sheets, and looked down where my left leg _should_be. It wasn't there. It was cut all the way to my hip, and was all wrapped up. I sighed sadly and glanced out the window, and saw that it was daytime. My eyes widened. **'Where's Nikolai?' **I then calmed down, remembering that he was taken out before my leg was cut off. Now that I thought of it, it felt like I was forgetting something, someone. But who? My thought were cut short as I felt a furry thing in my shirt.

"Spirit!. I quickly pulled the covers over me and turned away from the door, on my side. The door opened.

"Good, she's asleep. This is the best place we can talk, since the boy is awake," A voice said. It was the doctor. "Well, here's the most basic thing. The costs. It's going to cost quite a lot, and since she has no family to pay for it, I don't know what to do! Poor girl, she needs Automail, and her and the boy will probably be paying for this the rest of their life," I clenched my fist when he said 'poor girl'. The doctor continued. "I just don't know what to do. No one will take her in, and I don't know if the Adoption Center will take her in. So-" he was cut off by none other than Roy.

"I'll take them in," My eyes widened.

'**He'd do that? We hardly know him!' **Roy continued.

"I'll bring them with me to Central, and if they don't already know Alchemy, I'll teach them. They can live with me, and I'll pay for it all," The doctor probably gaped.

"Really? Are you sure?" Roy must've nodded. "Oh, thank you! Come, we'll get you the papers to sign!" I now had slightly turned so that I could see them, and saw Roy's eye twitch when the doctor said 'papers to sign'. They then left.

-1 Hour later...Roy's POV-

'**That bastard, making me sign all those papers. I get enough of that in Central!' **I thought as I finished signing the last paper, and stood up to go get Azalea and Nikolai out of here. The doctor said that he had already put a cast on Nikolai's broken arm, and also put a wrap around his twisted ankle, and gave him and Azalea a crutch. He told me to go to get Azalea's Automail leg made at a house who was owned by a woman named Pinako Rockbell. He also said that it would take a while to get her Automail, and while we were waiting we should 1: Get them some new items (Clothes, other things they might want). 2: Get a Hotel room. and 3: See if anything was unharmed from the fire.

I quickly left, my right hand aching. I opened the door to Nikolai's room, to see him sitting up and blankly staring at the wall. I mentally sighed. He glanced at me when I opened the door. I ran a hand through my messy hair.

"Hm, how do I explain this...? Well, to put it simply, you're going to be living with me. I'll teach you Alchemy-" I was cut off.

"I already know Alchemy," he looked at me with his piercing golden eyes. I smirked.

"You forget, I'm the infamous 'Flame Alchemist'. I'll teach you even more than you know now," Nikolai looked interested and got off of the bed with his crutch and limped towards me.

"Fine, now let's go get Azalea," I smirked and led him toward her room.

We opened the door to see Azalea scratching a purring cat's head boredly. I noticed the cat had three tails, and arched an eyebrow. Azalea looked up at us.

"Oh. Hey," she said to me, and looked at Nikolai worriedly. Nikolai noticed this.

"I'm fine. Besides, you're the one with one leg," he told her boredly, and she frowned. I immediately said something.

"Azalea, you'll be living with me, along with Nikolai, in Amestris. You could even become a State Alchemist if you'd like," she looked at me.

"I'd...I'd like that," I nodded and handed her her crutch. She took it and stood up, taking the cat with her, and not even wobbling. She started to walk ahead of us, but we caught up. I glanced at her face. Her eyes were red and puffy, you could tell she'd been crying. The cat hopped out of her arms and into her shirt. When we got to the front doors, I held them open for her and Nikolai. We got out of the building and they both got into the back seats of my car. I started the car and drove to the address to the Rockbells.

-Winry's POV-

I sighed, sitting on my bed, worried. I'd left Azalea's house yesterday night after they told me that Nikolai and Azalea left, and they wouldn't tell me of their conditions. I'd found out that their whole family is dead.

**'I hope their okay...' **I secretly hoped that they wouldn't end up like Ed and Al, and try to bring them back. All I'd done all day was sit on my bed, with my door locked. I didn't even work on the Automail legs for that man. I heard a sudden knock, but not on my door, the front door. I quickly opened the door and peeked my head out. I saw Granny Pinako answer it. There was a man who looked to be in his twenties, with black messy hair and dark eyes. He was also wearing a Military suit.

'**That's that man from when Ed lost his leg and arm! Did something happen to Ed or Al?' **I got rid of my pride and walked over to Granny Pinako and the man, just as Granny Pinako asked him why he was here. She looked at me and smiled, and continued talking to the man.

"I'm here to make an appointment," he simply told her, barely even glancing at me. I gasped, thinking that it was for Edward. Colonel Mustang smirked. "It's not for Edward," I sighed in relief. Granny Pinako butted in.

"Then who _is_ it for?"

"Azalea Albarn. She needs a left leg, all the way to her hip," Granny Pinako gasped, and I almost collapsed right there. "You know her?" He asked us.

"Of course I know her! We're best friends!" I exclaimed. He nodded.

"Where is she? We'll need to measure her," Granny Pinako asked, suddenly getting serious.

"Here," A voice interupted from behind Mustang. The 'Flame Alchemist' turned around, revealing a one-legged Azalea. I gasped.

"A-Azalea! Nikolai! What...What happened?" Nik simply stared at me, so did Azalea.

"Do," Azalea started. "Do I know you? And how do you know my name? I don't believe I've ever met you," I stared at her blankly, and Granny looked at her wide-eyed. Realization set in and tears quickly filled my eyes.

**"WHAT?" **I yelled, and reached out to shake her shoulders, but Nik put a hand out and grabbed me, glaring.

"What are you doing?" Nik said coldly. "She said she doesn't know you, and neither do I," he let go, and as I stumbled backwards, a tear fell onto the floor. Azalea looked at me blankly.

"I'm sorry for Nik's...Actions," she told me boredly. Granny Pinako put a hand on my shoulder.

"Amnesia, probably," she whispered to me. "They'll soon remember you," I hoped. I wiped my tears away and smiled.

"I'm sorry about that, I'm Winry! Nice to...meet you," I told them, and they both nodded. "Follow me, we'll measure you so that you can get your Automail, 'kay?" I turned and walked away, hearing everyone following me. I frowned.

**'Everythings happening so fast. I can't even register it in my mind! Like it's all a dream...' **I opened the basement door, where Granny Pinako got Azalea to sit down on the chair as I got out the measuring tools. I handed them to Granny and sat at a table next to the Colonel. I was just too shocked to work. Roy looked at me and sighed.

"I'm sorry to say this," he started off. "But neither Azalea nor Nikolai'll remember anything," My eyes instantly widened, and he continued. "They don't have normal Amnesia. It's like their brains permanently erased everything that doesn't have anything to do with their family and Alchemy/fighting," I clenched my fists and ran to the phone. I was going to call Edward.

"Hello?" A voice said casually. Edward.

"Edward. You to get here, _now. _Somethings happened. It involves Azalea and Nik." I immediately heard Ed say, 'Al, we're leaving!' and he hung up. I sighed. **'Oh, he's going to be surprised...'**

-15 Minutes later,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Pinako's POV-

"There, all done," I said to Azalea. "I'll go see if we have any extras that'll fit you," she nodded as I stood up and left to look at the extra Automail that Winry and I had made in our spare time-which was a lot. I noticed that Azalea were different, distant, almost like Edward and Alphonse, only they were worse. They lost absolutely everything, their family, their memories, now the only thing they had left was each other. I sighed.

"I just hope they don't do Human Transmutation like the pipsqueak and Alphonse..." I vaguely remembered Nikolai saying how stupid he thought the taboo was. I just hoped he remembered that. I looked at a smaller Automail, since Azalea was some-what short, maybe the same size as Edward. **'Luckily she doesn't-or didn't care about that,' **I chuckled. The measurement on the Automail were the same as Azalea's measurements. I grabbed it and walked back into the room where she was at.

"Lucky for you, we have one. Just let me polish it up a bit though," I brought it to a small table and replaced some bolts, and of course, polished it. About thirty minutes later, it was done, and I called Winry down from her room. Her eyes were slightly puffy, but she snapped out of it when she saw that we were going to put Azalea's Automail on. I glanced up at Nikolai and the Colonel.

"This isn't going to be pretty, so you're welcome to step out if needed," They both shook their head, and I looked at Azalea. "This isn't going to feel good," I told her seriously. She nodded, obviously not afraid. Nikolai gave her his hand to squeeze. She quickly took it.

"Okay, Winry, are you ready?" She nodded. "One...Two...Three!"

-Azalea's POV-

I screamed, of course. It was terrible. I clenched my mouth shut and gripped Nik's hand as hard as I could. I then refused to scream, and a single tear streaked my face. And just like 'that', it was over, and I realized I was sweating and breathing heavily. I couldn't move my Automail leg. Winry wiped some sweat off of her brow.

"That's special Automail. It's lighter, and easier to move with, but just as durable as the others," The girl, Winry, told me, sadness evident in her eyes. I frowned. Had I done something? I shook it off as Spirit snuggled in my face and I collapsed after hearing Winry yell.

"IT SO ADORABLE~"

-Nighttime,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Azalea's POV-

"Where am I?" I said groggily to myself, everything was dark.

**' It's probably nighttime...' **If I concentrated, I could hear Zale snoring.

"Some hotel," A voice said. I jerked my head to see Nik, who was leaning against the wall. He suddenly looked up and got serious. "What's up with you Lea? It's not like you to act like this! I really don't like it! Where's the crazy-psychopath I've known since I was like, two?" He smirked. I smiled back.

"You're...You're right. (Nik: Damn straight!) Mom, Dad, and everyone else would kill me if they saw me now! Now c'mon Nikolai, I wanna hug!" I stood up and only took two steps before feeling a small jolt of pain and falling flat on my face. Nik chuckled.

"Baka (Idiot/stupid). You aren't suposed to move for a while," He told me as he helped me up and set me on the bed. "You really don't use your brain, do you?" I punched him in the arm.

"Hey!" He laughed. He soon fell asleep on the bed next to mine. When he did, I frowned. "How? How do you expect me to go back to normal?" And with that, I soon fell asleep also.

-The next day,,,,,,,,,,,,Azalea's POV-

"Oi (Hey), wake up. We're going to go to your 'House', or what's left of it," Nikolai said bitterly. I sat up, immediately up and going. I grabbed my crutch and walked outside. Then I realized two things. 1: Roy's gone, and 2: I have no clothes. I hand tapped me on the shoulder. It was Roy.

"Hey Royo," I said, and he flinched, Nikolai behind me, staring blankly.

"Royo?" He asked. "That's a new one. You seem different today...Well, let's go," He held the door open once again and we headed to his car. I hopped in the front seat this time.

When we got there, I suddenly felt hungry. Really hungry. But that appetite soon disappeared when the house came in sight. We pulled into the driveway, and hopped out. I walked cautiously behind Roy, the events of two nights ago suddenly all came back. I felt sick. Roy led us inside. The first thing I saw was a broken light bulb. I then saw that everything was burnt.

"Why are we here anyways?" Nik suddenly said, and Roy looked at him.

"To see if there's anything left," he simply said. We soon saw that there wasn't anything on the first floor, so we went up. Me and Nik searched our bedroom while Roy looked in the bathroom. The first thing I saw in my room (Other than soot and rubble) was the mirror that I used to call Grandpappy with. It was completely clean, not even any soot was on it, and around one of the hooks on it, was my locket with every ones faces in it. I quickly grabbed it and put it around my bare ankle, since I already had my necklace and bracelets on- the doctors hadn't taken them off. I then grabbed the mirror, and continued looking. I found nothing, but Nik did.

"Look," he said, handing me a note with a two small pictures attached to it with a paper clip. I read it aloud.

"Dear Nikolai and Azalea. By the time you get this, I am, well, dead. I need to tell you two a few things. One, these beings, emotionless bodies (That don't age) without souls, called Homunculi, are after you Azalea, for your black blood. Luckily, they can't hurt you since the black blood protects you, though I can't say the same for you, Nik. One of the pictures attached to this note is the one way that you'll know if someones a Homunculi. Do you see it?" I glanced at the picture of a dragon eating it's tail. Mom once told me that that means eternal life. I continued reading. "If you see the mark on someone, then that person is a Homunculi. That is basically the only reason I wrote this letter. Also, I want you both to become State Alchemists, and still hunt Kishin. I also want you both to know that I love you with all my heart, and I'm watching over you two now. Remember me, M-Maka," I choked on that last word. Nikolai looked close to crying too, but he held it in and clutched his fists.

"We have to show Roy," Nik told me as I looked at the other picture. It was of all of us. I handed it to Nik.

"Here, you have it. I already have pictures of them, in my locket," I quickly left to show Roy the note as Nikolai delicately geld onto the picture and followed me. I found Roy standing in the bathroom boredly. He immediately noticed me.

"Nothing here, besides these," he said simply. He handed me a pair of white gloves, Mama's gloves . I gaped and admired them as I quickly gave him the note, and he read it curiously.

When he was finished, he looked at me weirdly.

"Black blood?" I nodded, and used my finger to make a small cut in my hands, and it oozed black and red blood, then healed itself. I then proceeded in telling Roy. Everything.

When I finished telling him, he looked at me expectantly.

"Show me," Roy told me. I looked at him curiously.

"Show you what? Do you want me to transform?" He nodded. "I can't transform all the way, but I can do this!" I closed my eyes and in a flash of light, I had four blades coming out of my arms (Two on each arm), three on my back, and two on my _leg_. He looked at me astounded.

"Aren't they heavy? And do they hurt?" He asked, and I shook my head.

"Nope, but if you really want to see something, talk to Nik over here," I said and pointed at him. "He's my weapon, and he can change into two different weapons, a giant shuriken and a big ol' scythe! Wait, didn't I already tell you that?" I chucked and old them I'd be downstairs.

When I got to the burned down living room (Which took forever, since I couldn't move my left leg), I sat on the floor and memories flooded my mind.

FLASHBACK-

**"If we're good, can we go there****?" A eight-year-old version of me asked, pointing to a candy shop and Mom nodded. **

**"But only if your good, and if you practice Alchemy and being a Meister." I nodded eagerly. The scene then changed to my fourth birthday, the day I met Uncle Kid, Aunt Tsusi, and Nik.**

**"Azalea?" Mama called, making me run over to her. **

**"Yeah Mommy?" Mama opened the front door, and revealed three people. A man with black hair, which had three white stripes thought it, a lady with long black hair and a smiling face, and a boy a little older than me, who was looking at me curiously. The man instantly grinned and swooped me up.**

**"AHHH! YOU'RE SO ADORABLE! AND SYMMETRIC!" My eyes rolled as he swung me around. Mama made him put me down, and told me who they were. I looked at them curiously, then pointed and the man. **

**"Uncle Kiddy-Kun," when I said that, his eye got all watery, and I thought he was gonna pick me up again. I then turned to point at the pretty lady. "Auntie Shushi!" I was trying to say Auntie Tsusi, but I was little and it didn't form right. Auntie Tsusi giggled. I then put my hand down and looked at Nik. I smiled widely.**

**"NIKKI!" I yelled, tackling him. **

**-End Flashback-**

I didn't even notice the tears that were free-falling until Roy slightly shook me.

"You're crying," he said simply and I put my hand to my face, feeling the wetness. I quickly wiped them away and stood up, hiding the pain. I smiled.

"Don't worry, I didn't even notice! Just some soot got into my eyes or something!" I told him and stumbled out into Roy's car, with Nikolai alongside me.

"Where're we going now, Nik?" He looked at me solemnly.

"My house," I looked at him curiously.

"Why? I...I don't really want to..." I clutched my hospital gown. Why was I still wearing it anyways? '**That's right, I have no clothes, huh?' **Nik put a hand on my shoulder.

"We're going to pick up your present. It'll be pretty useful," He told me. Everyone was silent for the rest of the trip.

When we got there, about fifteen minutes later, I was astounded. I'd never been to Nik's house before. It was huge. A mansion, actually. It was black with white window pane thing, and a white door. It also had giant candles coming out from the sides. It was completely symmetric. We got out and Roy looked at the house oddly. I grinned.

"That's Uncle Death for you! Completely symmetric," I was slightly pained to say that. Nikolai didn't answer and kept walking. I sighed sadly and limped slightly faster to catch up. I turned my finger into a scythe and picked the lock. I didn't like doing it, though. The door clicked open. I walked in, and I honestly wasn't surprised to see everything symmetric.

"Wait here," Nik told both or us. "I'll go get your present, Azalea, and also something else," I nodded.

"You didn't have to..." Nik was already gone. I sighed.

He came back a few moments later with a box that was about three or four feet long. I cocked my eyebrow. He tossed to me, and I easily caught it. I started to peel away the paper covering, and there was a simple box. I opened and gaped.

"Why...Why would he give this to me?" It was Uncle Kids infamous flying skateboard. "But still, it's pretty cool. We could use this to hunt down Kishin!" Nik nodded. I put in under my arm and Nik walked out the door and towards Roy's car. I frowned and walked out the door too, with Spirit on my head, and the skateboard in my free hand.

"C'mon Roy," I told him. I buckled my seatbelt as I sat in the back seat, with Nik in the back too. We were going to a clothing store next, then we were leaving tomorrow.

"So, what else did you have to get Nik?" I asked him a few minutes later. He looked at me and pulled out a golden necklace with a big charm that looked like a golden badge with wings on it. He flipped it around to show me what was on the back. There were two transmutation circles. One for basic transmutations, and the other for...Muscle Enhancement Transmutations. I studied it, then Nik put it back in his pocket.

"Cool,"

-15 Minutes Later...At Clothing Store,,,,,,,,,,,Azalea's POV-

"Here's exactly three hundred dollars, go buy some clothes," Roy said, and handed me the money. I looked at him curiously.

"Huh? But aren't you going to come with me?" He looked away.

"No. I don't want to see you buy your _undergarments, _that's all," he answered. I laughed.

"Okay, I guess," I said, waving to Nik and limping off with Spirit trotting by my side.

"Hm...What should I get...Oh! I'll get these, and these," I mumbled, taking out a couple pairs of shorts and t-shirts, then a light jacket and a heavy jacket, jeans, undergarments, , hair ties, and lot's of tank-tops and more shorts and jeans. I stuffed them all into a basket and went to the clerk. He was _way _older than me, probably in his late twenties. I smiled gently at him and put my things on the desk. He didn't talk to me or anything, though. Just rang the things up and put them in bags. I paid and went into the bathroom, where I changed out of the hospital gown and put on a blue shirt that had a silver robot in the middle, along with some Capri's that I also bought.

When I was done, I realized that I still had about one hundred dollars left. I shrugged and put them in my pocket for later. I stepped out with Spirit and almost immediately saw Roy, since he had on the whole Military suit on. They also saw me. I waved and limped over to them. I could now move my Automail leg in the ankle joint and knee joint without it hurting...much. Nikolai was wearing black jeans and a red t-shirt. He walked over to me and stood behind me, as if he was preparing for a fight. Nikolai grabbed my basket and held both of them, his basket and mine.

"Thanks Nik," I simply said, and he nodded. I sighed as Roy led us out the doors, and to the Hotel we were staying at. Me and Nikolai shared a room, and Roy had his own.

I opened the door to our room, and threw my things on the bed and yawned.

"I'm going to take a shower, 'kay?" I told Nik, and he nodded solemnly. "And another thing?" Nik looked up. "Don't push yourself," and with that, I grabbed my P.J's and went into the small bathroom.

I came out of the bathroom, feeling refreshed, to see Nikolai asleep, still in his t-shirt and jeans. I sighed and picked up his head to put a pillow under it (Thankfully he's a deep sleeper...) and covered him up with the blanket.

"He _did _push himself," I mumbled. "Oh Mama, Dad, everyone, if only you were here..." I sat on the bed and pull the covers over me. I then fell asleep.

I was dreaming peacefully, a nice dream, where everyone was alive and Nik and I were picking flowers, when I felt a hard tugging in the back of my head. I could instantly tell it was Zale, and the dream faded, and I was standing in the middle of her living room. The interior changed. This time, everything was red or black. I looked around, and saw Zale sitting, sipping some was wearing a black Lolita dress with red ribbons and lace. I sat in the chair across from her.

"So, why did you call me?" She set her drink down on an elegant glass coffee table and looked at me solemnly.

"A boy...A boy is coming for you. You mustn't let him reach you. At least, not now. Your soul wavelength will collapse, and you will die. The boy...I don't remember his name, but he is not a bad person, so don't fret," she told me.

"Why is he coming for me?" I asked.

"Because that girl called for him. But don't worry, the girl, Winry, has good intentions. She doesn't know that this will happen to you if you see him," she paused and thought. "Hm, he's probably here in Resembool already...He knows Roy," I nodded.

"So, when can I see him?" Zale smirked weirdly.

"Remember when you were...Eight and you sung that song?"

"Yeah...you said something about me being sixteen when something happens," I snapped my fingers. "So I can see him when I'm sixteen?" Zale nodded. I looked around boredly.

"So...What do you do know?" I asked Zale. She thought for a moment, and shrugged.

"Like some tea?"

"Sure,"

-Morning,,,,,,,,,,,,Azalea's POV-

"Roy!" I exclaimed. He glanced at me, slightly groggily. I had picked his lock and barged in, fully clothed.

"What is it?"

"We have to go. Now. I already told Nik," I pointed to Nik, who was behind me. He nodded at Roy. Roy suddenly got serious.

"Why?"

"Zale told me that there's a boy who here to Resembool, and if I see him, I'll probably die," I scratched my head sheepishly. "Don't worry about me though! There's no way I'd die!" I averted my eyes as Roy shut the door to get changed.

A few minutes later, he came back out, fully clothed in his blue Military suit.

"Okay, I guess we'll go," he told us, and we followed him out to his car, not talking until we got into the car.

"So, did you get this boys name?" Roy asked seriously.

"No," I said just as seriously. "She said she couldn't remember, and if I meet or see him before I turn sixteen, then..." I trailed off. Roy came to a realization.

"Fine then. You and Nikolai will be a special State Alchemist then. This kind of State Alchemist doesn't have to take the test, since a lot of them die anyways, and are almost never at headquarters. Do you know why?" He paused. "Because they're assassins," My eyes widened slightly. I didn't_want _to kill people, but I would if I had to. Only the bad guys, Homunculi, and Kishin. "But you won't just be killing humans. In fact, you'll only assassinate a couple a year," Nik and I both nodded. Roy continued. "And you'll do it in your weapon form, Nikolai. And you'll most likely will be taking orders from King Bradley personally. You'll also have to wear contacts which will change your eye color and dye your hair or wear a wig," We nodded again. Roy suddenly stopped and I jerked forward slightly. We were at the train station.

We quickly got out and Roy walked to a small crowd of Military men. They all immediately recognized him.

"Roy!" A man with dark slightly spiked hair, glasses, and some stubble (AN: Lol. Stubble.) on his chin came out and slapped him on the back. He then noticed us and examined us curiously. Then he smirked at us.

"Ooooh, Roy, were you hiding your children from us? Aw, they're so cute!" The man went all google-eyed and started playing with my cheeks. "Aw, who's their Mom?" _That _made Zale come out for a minute and my eyes glowed a brighter green as I sent a jolt of my soul wavelength at him. His eyes widened and he stepped back. My eyes then turned back to their original color and I immediately felt bad. I ran up to him. His back was facing me when I put a hand on his shoulder. Nik followed me, and just stared boredly.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to, I-" I was cut off by laughter. The mans laughter. He turned around, and tears were leaking down his face. Tears of joy. "Why're you-?" He cut me off.

"Hahaa, that was amazing! Sure, it hurt like Hell, but it was amazing!" I felt my eye twitch.

I thought as he picked me up and twirled me around.

"She so cute! Ah! You should meet my daughter Elysia! Here's some pictures!" He exclaimed, handing me some. "Look at this one! This one's from her birthday last year, and this one's from just last month! Oh, this one'll be your favorite!"

-500 Pictures later...Azalea's POV-

"I think she's seen enough pictures," Roy told him, and the man, which I now knew his name was Maes, started pouting. Roy got serious. "So, did you get the train tickets?" He asked a man whose name I didn't know. He nodded and pulled three out of his pocket. He then gave them to Roy, and Roy gave us one. Then, everyone was led into the train and into a compartment aways from the others. It was really crowded and I was squashed in between Roy and Nikolai. Pretty soon, I was reading a book on Alchemy after a lady came in and gave us lunch.

-Edward's POV-

"Where is she?" I half-yelled. I was at Granny Pinako's house, and Al and I both ran all the way here. Pinako frowned.

"Sit down and listen, you runt," she said. My eye twitched.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING RUNT YOU MINIATURE SIZED HAG?" She simply looked at me.

"You. Now sit down. There's a lot to tell you," I huffed and sat in the couch next to Al.

"Now what happened?" I asked, slightly rude. Al sighed.

"Brother," he said. I crossed my arms as Pinako and Winry also sat.

"Well," Pinako started. "Something happened three days ago. It resulted in her losing her leg," My eyes widened.

**'Azalea? This couldn't happen. Everythings happening to my friends! But then again, I abandoned her two years ago, so she probably hates me now...' **I snapped out of my thoughts and Pinako continued.

"She also lost all her memories of us, and you too. That man who was with her and Nikolai told us," I looked at her curiously yet upset.

"Who? What was the mans name?" I asked eagerly. This time, Winry responded.

"Colonel Roy Mustang," she told me seriously. "By, now, they've already left for Central," I clenched my fists.

"THAT BASTARD!" I yelled, tugging on my red coat on. "C'mon, Al, we're going!"

"But Brother," Winry grabbed my coat and tugged me back.

"Oh no you don't! While you're here, we might as well fix your Automail up a bit!" She half-yelled, and shoved me back on the couch, tools immediately in her hands. I sighed.

-Azalea's POV,,,,,,,,,,,,,3 Days later-

I was being carried. I knew, because I could hear the persons heartbeat and their footsteps. I slowly opened my eyes to see black. Black hair, of course. My head was resting on the person shoulder, so I lifted it up and looked around. The person carrying me couldn't have been Roy or Nik, they were both next to me, and Nikolai looked irked. I realized that the person carrying me had to be Maes.

"Maes?" He looked behind him at me.

"Oh! Hey Azalea! We're in Central now, you slept forever, so a took a few pictures. Nik looked at him, arms crossed.

"A _few?"_ I laughed as Maes scratched his head sheepishly. We were soon in front of a big, three story house. It was blue. I looked over at Roy.

"Is this your house, Roy?" He nodded. I gaped. **'We'll be living _here? _It's huge!' **Roy smirked.

"Now, come on, we'll unpack your things," he told Nik and I. We headed towards the door, and Maes let me down.

"Well, this is where I take my leave," Maes said at the front porch. "See ya later! And Roy?" Maes leaned over to Roy and whispered in his ear. "You should get a wife," Roy held his gloved hand up as if he was going to snap his fingers. Maes put his hands up in defense. "Well, bye Roy!" And with that, he ran off, leaving the rest of us to unpack.

-Four Days Later,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Edwards POV-

I slammed open the door to The Bastard Colonel's office. He looked over at me, and he had a lot of papers in front of him.

"Oh, is that you, Edward? I can hardly see you over these papers of mine," he told me, smirking. "You really should grow a little, you know," I glared at him.

"Cut it out! I'll get straight to the point, where are Nikolai and Azalea?" I demanded, slamming my hand down on his desk. He looked at me amused.

"You know them too, huh? Well I can't tell you anything related to them," he told me simply. I glared at him.

"Why?" I yelled, and he leaned back in his chair.

"Because I simply don't feel like it," My eye twitched.

"Bastard!" The colonel sighed.

"You won't be able to see her for two years. I fact, no one will be able to see her, besides Nikolai of course," I was furious.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that she has become a part of the Military. And she's about to leave for a mission which will last two years, Fuher's orders," I was about to say something when the door opened. It was Al.

"There you are big Brother!" I glared once more at the Colonel before leaving the room. I'd be back.

END! YESH! I'm so happy! This took me like, forever. Well, if your reading this, and you also read my other story, Me? A Witch?, well, I'll be uploading as soon as possible! :D Byeee!

*Hai mean 'yes' in Japanese...

**This means, "I don't wanna go to bed!"

***Sugoi means "Whoa", or Wow In Japanese.


	3. The Puppeteer Alchemist Chap 1 - Yes!

Azalea Eater Albarn:::

Hair: White, reaches the middle of her back, and is almost always kept in a bun

Eye Color- Olive green

Age-15

Skin Tone- Fair

Appearance (Clothes wise)- Black shorts, a purple tamk top with little black skulls scattered on it, black boots without the heels (Which go to her upper shins), silver bracelets (Two on each arm) with Transmutation Circles engraved on them, a long silver necklace that goes under her shirt and has a black and white stone that keeps her Black Blood under control. She also has a hidden anklet on her right ankle, it's a silver locket which has all of her family members pictures in it. Note: She has Transmutation Circles on her jewelry so that she can perform Alchemy without circles. There are about 1,000 different circles on each bracelet, and only Roy Mustang and Nikoli know about it. She has extras that she always keeps in her pockets, just in case.

Best Friend(s)-Nikolai Nakatsukasa, Jean Havoc, Riza Hawkeye

Close Relatives- **Soul "Eater" Evans **(Father, deceased), Maka Albarn (Mother, deceased), Death the Kid (Not related, refered as 'Uncle Kid', deceased), Black Star (Not related refered as 'Uncle Star', deceased) Patricia "Patty" Thompson (Not related, refered as 'Auntie Pat-Pat', deceased), Elizabeth "Liz" Thompson (Not related, refered as 'Aunt Lizzie', deceased), Tsubaki Nakatsukasa (Not related, refered to as 'Aunt Tsusi', pronounced 'Susie', deceased), Nikolai Death Nakatsukasa (Not related, act like brother and sister, alive), Spirit Albarn (Grandfather on her Mother's side, living)

Hometown- Resembool

Occupation- Military Assassin/State Alchemist 'Puppeteer Alchemist'

Pets- Her cat Spirit, named after his Grandfather on her mothers side.

Likes-The color purple, the saying 'Butterflies in your stomach', Wind Alchemy, Puppetry Alchemy, Breaking things, the smell of pears and apples, messing with Roy, hiding Havoc's cigarettes, foxes, when Nikolai lets her sleep in his bed after she had a bad dream, sweets, fighting in gereral, fighting with Alchemy, Fighting using Nikolai's Death Weapon form, reading, and many, many other things that the Author is too lazy to write...

Dislikes-Rabbits, getting sick, failing, nightmares, when Nikolai annoys her, when people make fun of her, being underestimated, Homunculi and Kishin, and pointless fighting.

Romantic Interest-That's a secret! (But his name starts with E...Now you all know. :P)

Hobbies-Visiting random graves and talking to them (Odd?), singing, Karate, running, Alchemy, using her soul wavelength to fight.

Personality-Kind, curious, rebel, funny, almost never gets mad (But when she does, _run_), determined, never cries in front of others (Atleast, she tries not to), doesn't make friends easily; she has to trust them first, puts others before herself, is usually underestimated, but is actually very strong, but is actually very strong, can control Nikolai's Death Weapon form very well, is very serious when it comes to fighting, doesn't like that Nikolai's mean to almost everyone, laughs a lot, hides her feelings of sadness, also has the 'Black Blood'.

Nikolai Death Nakatsukasa:::

Hair- Black, messy, usually covers his left eye

Eye Color- Golden with a couple black rings aroung the pupil

Age- 17

Skin Tone-Fair

Appearance (Clothes wise)- A plain white t-shirt, with white pants which are easy to move in, black and white checkered converse, silver earrings, white fingerless gloves, and a silver necklace that looks like a badge with wings, and it has a muscle enhancement Circle and a normal Transmutation Circle. He wears a black coat in the winter.

Best Friend- Azalea Albarn

Relatives- Death the Kid (Father, deceased), Tsubaki Nakatsukasa (Mother, deceased), Soul "Eater" Evans (Not related, refered as Uncle Soul, deceased), Maka Albarn (Not related, refereds to as Aunt Maka, deceased), Black Star (Not related, refered to as Uncle Star, deceased), Patricia "Patty" Thompson (Not related, refered as Aunt Pat, deceased), Elizabeth "Liz" Thompson (Not related, refered as Aunt Lizza, deceased), Azalea Eater Albarn (Not related, like brother and sister, alive).

Hometown-Resembool

Occupation- Military Assassin, State Alchemist (The 'Flash-Step Alchemist')

Pets-None

Likes-Reading, teaching Azalea new things, learning, making weapons, symmetry (Not obsessed, though), listening to Azalea sing, fighting with Alchemy or while in his Death Weapon form (With Azalea), teasing, using Muscle Enhancement Alchemy.

Dislikes-New people, Azalea's fox, using Alchemy for pointless things, having to change Azaleas' foxes' litter box, and when Azalea spends more time with others.

Romatic Interest?-Nope.

Hobbies- Alchemy, reading, exercising, building things without Alchemy, going for walks, remembering memories with Azalea.

Personality-Good sense of humor (Only to Azalea), trust issues, genius, protective, good cooker, slight rebel.

That's it! Now on with the show!

-One Year Later,,,,,,,,,,,,,Azaleas POV-

"Ne, ne (Hey, hey)," I whispered to Nik, poking him on the shoulder. I had asked him to carry me, telling him I was simply too lazy to walk. So, he was. Oh, yeah, we were in Amestris, at the State Military Headquarters, 'cause that's where Roy was. We had finished our mission early, so we came here. Our mission was to defeat two hundred Kishin. We thought that once we reached 100, Nikolai would transform into a Death Scythe, but when we did, he didn't. We didn't really care, though.

**'We traveled all over the world, just to get those stupid Kishin...' **I thought.

_**'I personally think that you doing that was quite idiotic.' **_Zale replied. I could literally see her smirk in my head.

**'That's just because _you're _lazy.'**

_**'Hey, remember, I'm you,' **_Zale said, her voice fading. I rolled my eyes just as Nik finally responded.

"What?"

"Why aren't you sweating?" I asked. "You've been carrying me for...fifteen, twenty minutes," Nik shrugged.

"You're tiny, and I have my muscle enhancement, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," I said, not even caring that he called me small. I'm about 5'3, and proud. "One more thing?" I kept going.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think he'll recognize us?"

"Of course he will," I shrugged, and rested my chin on his shoulder. We had to change our hair and eye color using Alchemy everytime we fought, because we didn't want people knowing who we were. We did it by placing an object on your head, clap your hands, and put your hands on your head over the object. It would make your hair the same color as the object. Right now, my hair was light brown, and I had hazel eyes. Nik also had brown hair and hazel eyes, so people passing by thought we were related.

I quickly jumped off of Nik's back as we rounded the corner, now in a hallway. I skipped to the door labled 'Colonel Mustang', and knocked twice, grinning like a mad man. Or woman. We heard a stern, 'Come in', and so we did. Roys desk was covered with papers, in fact, so covered that I couldn't see his face.

"Who is it?" Roy said, peeking his head around the stacks of papers to look at us. He then sighed. I just stood there, smiling brightly. "If you're here to become a subordinate, I'm sorry," he told us, his eyes closed. When he opened them, both mine and Nik's hair and eyes were back to normal, and I continues smiling as if nothing was wrong. Lets just say Roy was a little...shocked, to say the least.

"What the _HELL?" _Nik just smirked.

"Colonel Mustang? Did something happen?" Riza demanded as she slammed open the door, Havoc in tow.

"No," Roy told them. "Some_one _happened," he was, of course, glaring at me. I waved at Riza, smiling happily.

"Oh, hey Riza!" Riza looked at me, dumbfounded.

"A-Azalea? Nikolai?" I nodded happily. Riza soon realized that we _were _here, and not a halucination. Then he got serious.

"Why are you here a whole _year _early?"

"Cause," I said simply, "We defeated two hundred Kishin, just as King Bradley asked. That a problem?" I smirked while he glared.

"Fine," he sighed. "Havoc!" Jean immediately stood straight and saluted. I cocked an eyebrow. Roy was pretty upset, and I had to hold in a laugh. He always gets mad over the simplest things. "Get Nikolai and Azalea a hotel room," he continued. Jean nodded and rushed off. I plopped down on the couch, yawning.

"It sure is comfy here, Royo. I could get get used to this..." I said, trailing off.

"Oh no your not. You'll be on a lot of missions, since Kishin are popping up all over the world, and you and Nik are the only ones who can get rid of them. They are a threat to the Military," he suddenly got serious. I looked at him, and sat up straight.

"Yes, sir. We realize this is our duty, Colonel Mustang, and we will destroy any Kishin or Homunculis on the spot," I too, was serious. I hated those damn Kishin with all my heart, and I could care less about Homunculi. I stood up, and Nik followed. "Has there been any reports of Kishin?" I asked, not facing him.

"No,"

"Very well. We will report to our hotel room. Oh, and since I've been gone so long, be ready for some...surprises," I told him, smirking. We both headed out the door.

"Well, that was somewhat awkward," Nik said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. I laughed, changing my hair and eyes back to brown/ hazel. Nik saw this, and did the same.

"Yeah,"

-Jean Havoc's Office,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Azalea's POV-

"Hey Jeanie!" I exclaimed, peeking my head in Jean's office, scaring him so badly, he fell out of his chair. I laughed, and helped him up. When he was back in his seat, I got to the point.

"So..did you find a hotel room for us?" Jean nodded, taking a drag from his cigarette. I blew away the smoke that came my way.

"You should stop that, you know," I told him. He shrugged.

"It's addicting. Literally," I rolled my eyes and grabbed the keys that he held out to me. "These are the keys to your hotel room, it's number...327, yeah, that's it," I laughed and skipped out the door.

As Nik and I were walking down the hall, I suddenly felt relieved. In the year that I was gone, I was always so tense and alert, never knowing when or if I'd be killed. I was terrified. I'd learned to endure it, and in the end, I had killed many, many Kishins, distgusting creatures that used to be human, and they had left their mark, trust me. There were quite a few scars along my leg and arms, but none on my face. They weren't too noticeable, and, in fact, I'd wanted them to be visable. I wanted to let everyone know what I did, how had I'd worked.

"Yeah, me too. But I'd like to kill some Kishin right about now," Nik told me, and I nodded.

"Huh, I wonder if there is any Kishin here, but there probably is, they're everywhere," I said, opening the front doors. Nik shrugged, and we continued walking.

I stopped. Right in the middle of the sidewalk. Nik turned to look at me, and I just stared at him blankly.

"What is it?" He asked. I was silent.

"My shoe. Tie it, please?" I asked, raising my foot and putting it on his shoulder. He rolled his eyes, but did it anyways.

"You really should learn how to tie your shoes," I glared at him.

"Well, I was a little busy, considering I was _killing Kishin for the past year!" _

"Sorry, sheesh," I looked away sheepishly and shoved the Hotel keys in my pocket.

"You know, I don't wanna live in a hotel," I told Nik.

"Well then where are we going to live?"

"Here," I answered. While we were blindly walking, we ended up at Roy's house. "He won't care, we're practically family," I shrugged. "Besides, I already lef our stuff here when we passed by, 'cause I thought we were going to live here," Nik sighed, and followed me to the front door. It was locked.

"Hey Nik, give me a lift?"

"A lift? To the second story?" In asked in disbelief.

"Yup," Nik sighed.

"Alright," he said, clapping his hands and placing them on his arms. He then bent down and crossed his fingers, and motioned for me to step onto his hands. I did, and he counted. "One, Two..._three!"_

"_HOLY SH*T! NIK!" _I screamed as I was thrown all the way onto the roof. "Nice, Nik. Nice," I said as I flung myself into the open window, and ran downstairs to unlock the door. When Nik opened it, I was grinning madly.

"I feel like a criminal mastermind," I told him, giggling madly. He rolled his eyes.

"Criminal, yeah. Mastermind? No," I gasped in mock terror.

"Baka! (Idiot/Stupid)" I paused just as I was about to tackle him. "Criminal Mastermind just had an awesome idea. One that will make Roy hate me, forever."

-Roy's House,.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Roy's POV-8:00pm-

"Hey, Havoc, I'm going home now," I told him as I was picking up my suitcase-which was full with papers. I groaned as I walked out of the front door and into the cold night air. It was just spring, though.

As I approached my house, I saw that the second story window was open, and immediately got on guard. I pulled out my keys and walked to the front door, and cautiously unlocked the door. A moment later, I yanked open the door. There was no one there. I sighed.

"My god, I've been working too-"

"AH! It's Roy!" A squeaky female voice muttered. No, _many _squeaky voices. Suddenly, I was bombarded with millions of young, almost naked ladies, all with matching blond hair and dull brown eyes. They all tackled me, making me drop all of my things. I felt something wet slide down my face. **'Nosebleed! Damn!' **I suddenly heard laughter, and all the ladies shifted into ugly, old women. I mentally screamed, trying to get away; but they followed.

"Roy, sweety, where're you going? Don't leave, we're going to have so much _fun!_" They said in low voices. This time I did scream, but stopped myself. I knew who was doing this.

"_AZALEA!"_

_-Azalea's POV-_

I snorted, in an effort to stifle my laughter. After another minute, I snapped my fingers, making the old ladies turn to dust and disinegrate. Nik and I were both standing at the top of the stairs, and Roy immediately saw us. He stood us and dusted himself off, picking up his suitcase.

"Let the wars begin," he told us, walking up the stairs. When he passed by us, he continued. "Oh, and I knew you'd be staying here. Third door to the right," I smirked.

"Thankies Roy-Kun!" I told him, skipping in front of him and to my new bedroom, my things in tow. I heard him chuckle, and I could only hope that what he would do wouldn't mentally scar me.

When I got into my room, I opened my suitcase and grabbed my clothes, changing right there. I then jumped in bed right as Nik walked in. I didn't pay attention to him, and instead, went to bed.

-Next day, Military headquarters,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Edwards POV-

"Hey! Roy! Where the hell are you?" I said, walking into Colonel Stick-up-my-Ass. Instead, I found Riza. She nodded at me, not looking up from her papers.

"Why are you here, Fullmetal?" She asked after a few moments. I sighed.

"I'm here to get my first mission," I told her. Riza nodded, and walked towards the door. She opened it.

"Follow me to my office," I nodded, jogging for a moment to catch up with her. She walked to a door a couple doors down, and went in. I followed. Her office was almost identical to Colonel Buttholes office.

I was lounging on Riza's couch, waiting for her to come back with my next mission papers. A few minutes later, she did come back, with just one paper.

"What? Just one paper?" I asked. Riza nodded sternly and handed the paper to me. To put it simply, all I had to do was check out some town named Lior, and when I heard it involved the Philosophers Stone, I was immediately interested. "Nevermind, I'm goin'. When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow, so you should pack your things, Fullmetal," she answered, organizing some papers on her desk. I started to read the rest of the paper, and found out that it was in a desert. _'Bleh, a desert? And we have to walk there? What a-' _

"RIZA!" A blur past right by me and tackled Riza to the ground. I sprung up, ready to fight. I expected Riza to shoot whoever the person was, but she didn't.

"Azale-Makenzie, get off," Riza simply told the girl. She stood up and grinned. She had long brown hair and hazel eyes.

"Hey-" The girl started, but I cut her off.

"Who the hell are you?" The girl simply looked at me.

"I'm...Makenzie. So Riza, before I was so rudely interrupted, I have to ask you something," Riza cocked an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Can I borrow your gun?" '_WHAT? Her gun? Hah, as if Riza would ever-'_

"Sure," Riza bluntly said, and gave her the polished pistol.

"Thanks," the girl, Makenzie, said, and ran to the door.

"Two things," Riza said, stopping her. "One, why do you need it? And two, where's your brother? This is the first time I've ever seen you without him," Makenzie just smiled lightly and cocked the gun.

"Roy won't get up," she said simply, making me shiver. "And Nikola-Matt is with him," Riza nodded, and she walked out casually.

"What...just happened?" I asked, making Riza shrug. "Who was that chick?"

"A first class assassin. Her name's Makenzie Buhart, and she's more skilled than me. Been in the field since she was fourteen," My jaw-dropped. I noticed it, and quickly regained my posture.

"Heh. I could beat her," I said proudly. Riza stared at me sternly.

"By saying that you could beat her, your saying that you could beat me," Riza told me. "And I don't think you could," she pulled out a spare gun from a drawer.

"Okay, well, I'd better get going!" I said, sprinting out the door.

-Azalea's POV,,,,,,,,,,,,,ROY'S HOUSE-(AN: As you can tell, I like all caps :D)

"You have to the count of five, and if your not up, I shoot," I told Roy, who was partially awake, in his Pajamas. I was deathly serious. "One, Two," Roy bolted out of bed and into the bathroom. I grinned and looked at Nik, shoving the pistol in my pocket. He chuckled.

"Too far, Lea, too far," I shrugged.

"I just did what Riza would do," I told him, cracking my fingers and walking downstairs, before yelling, "You've got ten minutes, Royo!" I heard something fall, and laughed. _'It's fun messing with people; the only person I wouldn't ever mess with is Riza,' _I thought to myself, entering the clean kitchen and making a bowl of cereal. While I was eating I decided to visit Grandpappy. So I quickly ran upstairs and grabbed my special mirror, then ran back down, unseen. Afew minutes later, I reached him, in mid-bite, still chewing.

"_WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL ME SOONER?" _Grandpappy's little outburst caused me to spit my food all over the mirror. After I cleaned it up, I answered him.

"It's only been a week, Grandpappy,"

"So? A week too long!" I rolled my eyes. Grandpappy was my only living relative that I knew of, since I've never met Momma's mom, or anyone from Daddy's side of the family. I then finished my cereal, and dumped it in the sink. When I sat back down, Grandpappy continued talking_. _

"Azalea Eater Albarn," I looked at him curiously.

"Yeah? Don't tell you've just found out you have another child, 'cause I already aw that coming," Grandpappy ignored that and continued.

"WHOSE HOUSE ARE YOU IN?" I shrugged.

"Some guys that I just met," I told him bluntly, causing him to fall over. "Just kidding. I'm at Roy's right now," Grandpappy immediately sat up.

"Is Nikolai with you?" I nodded. "Then it's fine," I smiled. Grandpappy met Roy just before I left, since he was curious. But Roy and Grandpappy don't mix. The result of them meeting was a pissed Grandpappy and a unconscious Roy. Just then, something bit my leg lightly. I screamed and looked down, just to see a giant Spirit. Yeah, remember the tiny fox I found? She..grew. A lot. She actually reaches to my belly button, and can easily carry me. I relaxed as she nuzzled my leg. I laughed and pet her. Spirit had been trained by Nikolai and I, so she could now easily kill a Kishin. Grandpappy started to laugh at me, and I simply 'Turned the mirror off', just as Roy and Nik walked down the stairs. Roy saw the mirror, and his eyes widened.

"Are you...Is he still on?" He asked, trying to keep cool.

"Oh, yeah, you want to talk to him?" I asked, turning the mirror towards him. Roy sprinted out the door before he could see that the mirror was blank. I laughed lightly. Nik peeked out the window.

"He's gone," Nik told me. I sighed, thinking of what to do. Then I thought of it. I was going to change up his house a bit.

-END-

Done! *Man voice* "What will Azalea do? What will happen? Tune in next time to find out!" *Cheesy smile* Oh, and this is dedicated to Haruhimay12, for wanting this done so much, lol. :D (That pic is what Ed's face looked like when Riza gave Azalea her gun...Lol..)


	4. Author's Note! :D

**Hey guys! ...Don't kill me. I beg of you. D;**

**I really have no excuse for not updating, except that my computer exploded.**

**But! I got a laptop, baby~~~ So! I'll be updating a lot more often! c:**

**Be prepared!**

**- Multipandabears**


	5. The Puppeteer Alchemist - Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I, quite obviously, don't own FullMetal Alchemist nor Soul Eater. ;_; Don't rub it in, lol.**

Third Person POV-

A bright flash of light illuminated the cozy house, once, twice, tree times. Then it stopped. Alchemy was being used, by a mischievous little girl.

"Oi! (Hey)" The small teen shouted from a room connected to the living room. "Nik! I've finished!" She wiped her hands on her tank-top, just as a young boy opened the door. This boy was known as Nik to the girl, Azalea.

"Nice. I can tell you'll be in here for a while..." The boy trailed off.

"Yup! I made it, you know," The newly designed room was now a decent sized studio, with a guitar, keyboard, drums, two microphones, and a black grand piano in the corner. "Roy will probably be mad, but- Well, speak of the devil!" She said in a fake cowboy accent, just as a young man walked in, hearing the talking. His expression didn't change at all, he just turned around and left, shuting the door behind him. Nikolai and Azalea both snickered.

"Well, let's sing. We probably won't be here for a while," Azalea stated, causing the boy to nod, walking to the guitar.

-Azalea's POV,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Roy's House/Studio-

I grabbed the cordless microphone which was hanging on the wall and thought of a song for Nik and I to sing.

"Oh! I know what song to sing!" I exclaimed. Nik put the guitar up and also grabbed a mic. I clapped my hands and placed them on a nearby speaker, making the music for Trick and Treat play, even though it was no where near Halloween. (Watch video in corner or go to watch?v=Nyq7Z3jxCEM)

Nikolai:: "Fukai, fukai kiri no naka youen ni hibiku koe," Nik started. "Oide oide kono mori no motto okufukaku made,"

Azalea:: "Hayaku, hayaku isogiashi de dekiru dake chikaku ni." Pause. "Oide oide saa tanoshii-"

Both:: "Asobi wo hajimeyou!"

Nikolai:: "SHINAMON STIKKU wa mahou no SUTEKKI,"

Azalea:: "Hitofuri suru dakede SHIROPPU ga fueru- Nigasa sae wasurete amai yume no naka,"

Nikolai:: "Tengai ni mamorarete,"

Both:: "Nemuri ni ochiru!"

Azalea:: "Gensou no saimin ni oboreta mama de ii. Mekakushi wo hazushicha omoshiroku nai desho,"

Nikolai:: "Ashimoto gochuui sono te wa boku ga hiku kara. Sono mi wo ima sugu ni,"

Both:: "Yudanenasai saa!"

Nikolai:: "Itsukaraka ginen no ha ga miegakure suru. Ai to iu menzaifu nado wa sonzai shinai to,"

Azalea:: "Mekakushi no sukima kara nozokimita RANTAN ga. Utsushi dashita kage ni omowazu-"

Both:: "Mi no ke ga yodatta!"

Nikolai:: "Oya oya warui ko mou omezame desu ka?"

Azalea:: "Mekakushi ga toketa nara moumoku ni shiyou ka? Hora hora warainasai kawaii okao de,"

Nikolai:: "Kegawa wo mata kabutte."

Both:: "Shibai ni modoru!"

Azalea:: "...Nee, choudai?"

Nikolai:: "Doushita no sonna me de karada wo furuwasete. Atatakai MIRUKU de motenashite hoshii no?"

Azalea:: "Saa naka ni ohairi koko wa totemo atatakai. Mikaeri wa POKETTO no nakami de ii kara,"

Both:: "Choudai hayaku hayaku. Nee hora ima sugu ni. Nisha takuitsu no gensoku wo kanagurisute. Mayakashi de motenashite amai mitsu wo sutte. Choudai yokose hora ima sugu ni...Choudai!"

I took a deep breath. I loved that song, even though it creeped out almost everyone who heard it. I turned to look at Nik, but he was already back to messing with the guitar. I shrugged and told him that I'd be with Roy. So I walked out and headed upstairs to his room, where I found him signing papers, and I felt bad. So, I helped him.

"Oi, Royo. Need help? Not from me, though. I suck at cursive," Roy looked up at me curiously. "Don't forget Roy, I'm a Puppeteer Alchemist," His eyes widened. So he knew what I was going to do, and he smirked. I rolled my eyes and concentrated on my Soul Wavelength, and channeled it into my Puppets. I claped my hands and placed them on the ground, a white light appearing, then disappearing. In it's place was a Puppet, one that looked just like Roy.

"Communication?" The Puppet asked in a robotic voice.

"No," I responded.

"Voice Reanimation?" I shook my head.

"Mission?" I nodded.

"To sign these papers in 'your' name," I simply said. My Puppet nodded and quickly went to work. All the real Roy had to do was put the signed papers in his breifcase.

Soon enough, the Puppet was finished. It stood and walked to me, ignoring Roy completely.

"Mission has been accomplished," I nodded, and snapped my fingers. The Puppet disappeared. My eyes widened slightly as I felt a tiny part of my Soul Wavelength come back inside me, and my disguise faltered (Yeah, the brown hair and Hazel eyes?) Yup, I had to take out a small piece of my Soul Wavelength to make a Puppet. Roy just went about his business and I almost left, but I remembered what I was going to ask.

"Colonel," I said, getting serious. I was trained to be serious. I'm only serious whenever I'm in a serious fight, or talking/in a mission.

"Yes, Ms. Albarn?"

"If I may ask, do you have Nikolai's and my mission ready?" I asked, facing the door.

"Yes, actually. But this mission is different. For the first time, you will be working with a teammates, other than Mr. Nakatsukasa," I nodded.

"Yes, sir. May I ask where we are going?"

"Yes. It's complicated. You two are going to the same place, Lior, but have different missions. You and Nikolai will be going there to destroy a small band of Kishin, while your two other teammates will be going to investigate," Roy told me, and I nodded again.

"So," I started. "They know about Kishin, I assume?"

"No. In fact, they don't know you and Nikolai are coming. Well, they will soon," I nodded.

"So, what should we tell them?"

"Nothing," Roy bluntly said. "You will pretend you're on their mission, and secretly find and eliminate the Kishin, then report back. If they ask why you left- when they come back, tell them you thought that they could handle it. Simple as that. Now go and report back to Nikolai," I turned as he finished.

"Yes, Sir!" I then proceded to run back to Nik, who was eating a sandwich lazily. He immediately heard me (Due to his intense Assassin training which we both took- From the top Military officers and Black Star) and turned his head to nod at me. I skipped over to him and bent down, taking a bite of his bologna and cheese sandwich, making him glare at me. I rolled my eyes.

"Hey, Nik. Roy has another mission for us," Nik glanced at me, listening. "A mission...With others! As in, teammates! For the first time!" While I was happy, Nik narrowed his eyes. I knew he was upset, but I didn't say anything. "Well, they _think _we're on a mission, but we're actually there to destroy some Kishin, and when we've finished, we leave," That seemed to make Nik loosen up a bit.

"Hey!" I added. "Let's go get ice-cream!" Nik, who was fully clothed, pointed at me.

"Your in your Pajamas," he stated, making me blush and run back upstairs to get changed.

I came back down five minutes later, dress in my normal clothes, but with my necklace hanging out of my shirt. I ran to door (After grabbing Nik and dragging him there) and ran out with Nik.

"Ah, air!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms up. Before we left, though, I ran to the backyard to find Spirit chasing a small mouse. "Spirit! C'mon!" She looked up at me curiously, before hopping over to us happily. I laughed, an we headed out.

"Ooh! There's the ice-cream shop!" I half- yelled, sitting on Spirit back, who yipped in response. Even though Spirit and I looked childish, and without a care in the world, all three of us were cautious, observing everyone and everything around us. That was the way of an assassin. I was knocked out of my thoughts as Spirit nunged me with one of her tails, signifying that we were there.

"Oi. Spirit's attracting attention," Nik told me.

"Uh-huh. I know. You go in without me, get me my favorite, please!" I asked, bringing Spirit to an ally, where I used Alchemy to make her the size she was when I first got her. It didn't hurt her, luckily. She just yipped and jumped in my shirt. I shrugged and skipped into the shop. Nik was already sitting down, eating a Popsicle. Across from him was a small vanilla ice-cream. I grinned and snatched it us as soon as I reached him. Nik also had a third ice-cream, for Spirit.

"They sell ice-cream for animals? Cool," I said as Spirit hopped out of my shirt and gulped it down. Today, I was disguised as a little five year-old girl with blond hair in two pigtails, and brown eyes. Nik also had blond hair and brown eyes, but he was disguised as my Dad. As I was eating my ice-cream, two people walked in. A boy about my age (If I wasn't disguised) and a big suit of armour. Nik quickly scanned them over, them turned back to me. I looked at him seriously.

"No worries. The midgit is a State Alchemist, I saw his watch. The other guy is just a soul bound to armour. They aren't a threat," he told me, finishing his popsicle. As he stood up to throw the stick away, I felt a soul quickly snuffed out, and slammed my icecream down, standing. That soul's body was just murdered.

"Spirit," I simply said, making the little fox hop in my shirt. Nik instantly whipped his head towards the direction the soul was at. The two people who just walked in were staring at us oddly, but I didn't care. Somewhere out there, a Kishin roamed.

"Where is it, exactly, Zale?" I whispered.

**_'3567, Sunflower rd, Downtown. The Kishin was in somebody's house.' _**I nodded, and pulled out a ten dollar bill out of my pocket. I ran out of the booth and as I past the clerk, I handed him the money, running out. Nik was already out there, waiting.

-Al's POV,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Ice-cream shop-

That little girl._. _I looked over to Brother. He looked back.

"Should we follow them, Brother?" He nodded, and stood, forgetting his ice-cream. I sighed and followed them out the door. We barely saw them, swerving in and out of people, glaring ahead. I was confused. What would a little girl a her Dad be doing? I looked up to see brother ahead of me, so I had to run to catch up.

After a few of minutes of running, dodging people (And cars), we saw them make a quick turn into an neighborhood street. I stopped.

"Brother, I don't that they're doing anything wrong.."

"Shh!" Brother said, ducking behind a bush. He pointed at the two. "That's not their house, they're busting in!" I looked. They had there backs against the wall, and the girl peeked in the house, then turned to her father. She whispered something inaudible. (AN: She told Nik that the Kishin wasn't in the house) They then ran to the backyard. We followed. The little girl skidded in the backyard, stopping herself. She then pointed to something that neither of us could see.

-Azalea's POV-

That scum. Stupid Kishin. It had used something to make itself invisable, but I could still sense it. So could Nik and Spirit. It was incredably weak, and I didn't want to waste my time with this ugly thing.

"Spirit. Dinner Time," I said, reaching into my shirt to take her out. I threw her up in the air as high as I could, making her transform back to her normal size, and her canines gleamed. I felt the Kishins presense flee, and Spirit chased after it.

"Be sure to come home when you're done!" I hollered, hearing Spirit's response- a short growl. I laughed and clapped my hands once. I then placed them on the ground, making me go through it, as I way of transportation. I knew Nik was following.

-Edward's POV-

What the Hell just happened?

"Should we report them?" Al asked from behind me. I shook my head.

"They weren't doing anything bad. In fact, I think they were helping," I told him, standing up and dusting myself off. A few minutes later, while we were on our way to our apartment, I heard something from Al.

"_Meow!"_

_"AL!"_

_-_Azalea's POV-The Next Day-

"C'mon, C'mon, _C'MON!" _I screamed from in my bedroom. I was desperately trying to fit my skateboard in a smaller box. All I was going to bring on our mission was my skateboard, money, and the clothes I had on. Roy had told us to meet his at the town's train station at eight, which was in an hour. But the stupid _skateboard _refused to go in it's box!

"Need help?" I chuckling Nik asked. I quickly shook my head.

"No! I can do it," I told him.

"Fine, I'll go make breakfast. Oh, and Roy already left," I nodded quickly, before getting back to work.

A few minutes later, I decided to just carry it as it was. Frustrated, I went downstairs to eat what Nik made. A bowl of cereal. I grinned. This was pretty much all Nik could make, he didn't care for cooking, just eating. I sat in the cushioned chair, a leaned in to start eating.

A few minutes later, Nik came downstairs from his bedroom, carrying a small black bag. I ignored him, knowing what he'd say next.

"So, you gave up."

"NO!" I yelled, standing up and pointing at him. "I did _not _give up! Don't you say that, ever!" I finished, plopping back down in the chair, huffing.

"Okay, okay. No need to act immature," he told me, holding his hands up. I rolled my eyes.

"Stop acting all cool."

"Acting?" Nik asked in a high-pitched voice. "I highly assure you that I am _not _acting," I laughed.

When I finished, I threw the plastic bowl in the sink, and ran to the couch to grab my bag and my skateboard. I pushed Nik out the door (He already ate), before looking at the clock. We had ten minutes to get there.

"Holy crap, Nik! We're late!" I yelled as we were on the front porch. Nik sighed and gave me his bag, bending over.

"Get on my back."

"Huh?" I asked, confused. But then I understood. He was going to use Muscle Enhancing Alchemy to get us there quickly. So I shrugged and did as I was told.

"Wait!" I exclaimed before we took off. "We forgot to disguise ourselves!" Nik cursed under his breath, looking around. I sensed no souls, though, as I was changing our hair and eye color. (It was the same as when she met Ed. Sort of met Ed.) When I was finished, Nik started running, and I quickly put my head down, the building a blur as we passed them.

-Roy's POV,,,,,,,,,,,,,Train Station-\

"Hey, Colonel Jackass! When are our 'teammates' going to get here?" The pipsqueak asked loudly. I shrugged.

"They do whatever they want, especially the girl," I told him, sighing. Edward began to say something else, but stopped to cough as a dust cloud suddenly appeared. I sighed, again.

"They're here," I said to Edward and Alphonse, gesturing to the quickly approaching dust cloud. Edward said nothing for a change, dumbfounded. A few moments later, as they were much closer, I heard Azalea coughing slightly. A split second later, she jumped off of him hastily. They were only a few yards away now. Azalea was bent over, coughing, while Nik was standing behind her, patting her back, hard.

"What the hell happened, Azal- Makenzie?" Azalea ignored me and jerked her head up, glaring at Nik.

"You..You _bastard!_" _Nik only smirked._

"What happened?" Al asked kindly. Azalea turned away.

"Nothing." Azalea quickly said. Nik turned toward me, ignoring Al and Edward.

"She swa-" Nikolai was cut off as Azalea jumped on his back and slammed her hand over his mouth. A few seconds later, Nikolai bit her hand, causing her to jump off.

"If you don't tell him, I will," Nik told her simply. Azalea crossed her arms stubbornly, not even noticing Ed and Al.

"Fine. This _bastard_ over here dared me to open my mouth while he was running here, and you know I always accept a dare. So I did, and got a bug in my mouth! I'll never fall for that again. Meanie," I grinned and high-fived Nikolai.

"Hey! Are you forgeting something?!" Edward said from behind us. Azalea looked behind her, curious. Her eyes suddenly widened, as she leaned towards him, obviously pissing off Nik.

"Wow! Finally, someone who's the same height as me!" She exclaimed, smiling. Edward just looked at her oddly.

"You're that girl from yesterday!" He also exclaimed.

"Yup, in the flesh! I-Omph!" Azalea was cut off as Nik grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back.

"How do you know Makenzie?" Nik asked Edward, his eyes narrowing. Al sighed as Edward also narrowed her eyes.

"Who're you?" Edward asked Nik simply.

"Her older brother. Now answer my question."

"I just ran into her, that's all. Is it a problem?" Nik shuddered, angry as he turned to Azalea.

"I can't ensure his safety if he keeps going," he told her ominously as she put her hand on his arm and stared into his eyes. I knew that whenever she does this, the peson she's holding onto will hear whatever Zale, or herself, says. He sighed. Azalea probably told him to calm down, and maybe something else.

A few minutes later, after everything settled down, Al came up to me.

"When is the train going to get here, Colonel?" Everyone watched us curiously, except Nik. He was glaring at, well, nothing. I chuckled at Alphonse.

"Train? What train? You'll be walking," I said bluntly.

"_What?!" _Edward hollered.

"I am sure you heard me perfectly fine," I told him, about to leave.

-Azalea's POV-

"Well screw this," I said, pulling out my skateboard and using Alchemy to change it into two sets of rollerblades. Tossing one to Nik, I muttered, "See you there...Partners," I pulled them on, and when Nik put his one a jumped up in the air, and to the two boys surprise, I didn't come back down. Instead, I was floating, with Nik alongside me.

"I feel...Cheesy," I muttered. "Oh, yeah! Who're you two?" I pointed to the short blond and the suit of armor. The blond boy answered.

"I'm Edward Elric, otherwise known as the 'FullMetal Alchemist', and this is my brother, Alphonse Elric," he told me proudly, and I mentally sighed. An Alchemist, duh. I've always wanted to be an Alchemist, but Roy said no. Meanie.

"I'm Makenzie Buhart, as you already know, otherwise known as...The 'Puppeteer Alchemist.'" I told him, grinning.

"And _I'm," _Nikolai paused to think, "Leon Buhart. Otherwise known as The 'Flash-step Alchemist.'_Nice _to meet you," he said sarcastically, as I slapped him on the arm.

"I would shake your hand or something, but as you can see, I'm currently five feet above you." I smiled and bowed politely. "Well, it was nice to meet you, bye!" The 'bye' probably wasn't heard, as I 'drove' off, a purple-ish streak behind me.

As we were...probably half-way there, I turned to Nik for the first time.

"Oi (Hey). Do you think there will be many Kishin in Lior?" I asked, sternly, bent over with my arms behind me, to go faster.

"Most likely. The biggest problem with our mission is that blond kid. It will be hard to leave, what with his nosiness," I glared at him.

"No need to be so mean all the time. You just met him," I told him, making him shrug lightly. I sighed and entered 'Zale's Realm'. I was able to do this sometimes. Basically, I was just meditating, and it could lead me to a part of my mind where Zale resided. When I appeared in front of her, she was surprised.

"Oh, hello Azalea? May I ask what brings you here?"

-Azalea's POV,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,4 Hours later-

"Hey, Azalea. We're here," Nikolai told me, knocking me out of my subconscious. Zale and I were talking my Death Weapon, quite randomly. She'd wanted me to show her it.

"Already? Is Edward and his brother here?" I asked drowsily, that's what being in 'Zale's Realm' would do to you. Nik shook his head.

"No, they won't be here for another," he looked at his watch. "Five hours."

"Five _hours?"_

"Yeah. We would have been here earlier, but I had to steer you the whole time," he told me bluntly. I blushed in embarrassment. I looked up at the sky, and saw that it was morning.

"We traveled through the night?" Nik nodded.

"We have time to look for the Kishin," Nik suddenly realized. I nodded.

"I'll try to find them," I told him, resting on my knee as I closed my eyes and concentrated. I felt a small spike in somethings wavelength. It was most likely a Kishin, since I could actually smell the stench of it. As I concentrated harder, I could barely feel the beats of all the humans hearts, but that's not what I was looking for. _I need to take this to a higher level. Zale?_

**_Yes?_**

_Could you help me? You know what I mean._

**_Yup, I do know what you mean. Okay, _**Exactly at that moment, I felt an overwhelming strength overcome me. I knew I was strong, I had the number of Kishin kills to prove it, but this power was so immense, I almost fell. I slowly touched my finger to the dusty floor, some citizens stopping to look. I dug my fingers into the ground, feeling the vibrations of every moving thing, but I knew these vibrations weren't Kishin. What I was doing was hard, I was trying to find Kishins that were in hiding. So I thought harder, thought of Kishin, and their soul wavelengths. Sure enough, I felt one. Then two. Then...ten, maybe fifteen. I took my finger out of the ground, and, thanking Zale, turned to Nik.

"There are about fifteen of them, all over the town. We should look around, learn the locations of the streets and roads. Nik nodded.

And so, for the next four hours, we were walking around Lior, slowly memorizing the names of, well, everything.

"O-Oi, Nik? Can we...rest?" I asked, panting. Nik nodded, also breathing hard, and leaned up on a lone pole. I bent down to rest my hands on my knees, catching my breath. We were in front of a big, white fountain, full of an unknown substance. When I caught my breath, I wandered over to it, and stuck my finger in it.

"What're you doing!?" Nik asked, reaching out to grab my arm. "It might be poisonous," I chuckled.

"If it were poisonous, then why is it in the middle of the town, where everyone can reach it?" Nik quickly let go of my hand and went back to where he was, ignoring me. I laughed and smelt it. It was wine. I gagged and wiped it on my shorts.

_"It's-" _

_"WATER!"_

I barely had time to think, before another body collided with me, sending us both hurdling into the wine-filled fountain. I felt my disquise falter for a millisecond, no one noticed though. Not even me, I was currently face down in a puddle of wine. Likely? No. Then, I realize I can't breath. Or get up. Why, you ask? 'Cause... _There's a person on me!_ The next thing I know, the person gets up and grabs my arm, pulling me out. I wipe my eyes, sputtering. Nik's right behind whoever just helped me up, his mouth agape. I open my eyes, to see two golden embers, which I identify as Edwards. His eyes...are golden?

"Azalea?" Edward asks. I blinked. Twice.

"I ALMOST _DIED! _How do-"

"Hey! What the hell do you think you two're doing? That's wine, not for little kids!" A man, probably in his thirties, hovered over us, glaring. Edward obviously noticed the 'Little kids' that the man had said, and had a trantrum. I, was pointing at Edward, blaming it all on him.

"Do you think I'm _little? _You won't think I'm so little when I chop your _LEGS OFF!" _

Fifteen minutes later, after calming Eddie down, Al, Edward and I were sitting at a little booth, while Nik was still at that pole, looking around cautiously. The man had calmed dowm, too.

"Ah! You're from out of town, eh?" He laughed, after handing Ed a glass of orange juice. He had asked me if I wanted anything, but I declined. Edward nodded, sucking on the straw.

"You have'ta excuse me, I thought you were tryin' to steal some of the wine!" He laughed.

"It's pretty odd, having so much wine in this town, don't you think?" I lightly butted in.

"Yeah, it must be loaded!"

"Heh, we- Oh! I almost forgot to turn on the radio!" The man exclamied, reaching up to turn on a radio. I noticed that practically everyone in the whole town had turned the radio on. At first, it was light music. What, is this some kind of hippie town? I thought, looking over to Ed and Al. Al just shrugged and went with it, while Ed looked at everyone as if something was wrong with them. The man bent his head and started praying, just as a man began talking. I, myself, looked away, as if I didn't care, but in reality, I did. I analyzed his voice, looking for cracks in his voice to make sure he wasn't lying. I even went as far to look into his soul, which took a lot of energy, since I didn't see him. I noticed that he couldn't be an ordinary human, his soul was bigger, as if his soul had gotten an implant or something. I frowned as Edward said something incoherent, making the man upset.

"You call us freaks? Look at you guys! You're wearing gloves in the desert, your brother's in a suit of armor, that girl is the only decent one here!" I grinned, trying to concentrate on the voice. It sounds like he's hypnotizing them! I cautiously looked away, leaning in to listen to the conversation the three guys were having.

"What's your problem, boy?! Are ya street performers?" I giggled as Ed spit his drink everywhere.

"Are you stupid? Do I look like a clown to you?!"

"Well, you've gotta have a reason to travel this far, we never get any visitors." Ed sighed.

"We're just trying to look into something. Anyways, who's this guy on your radio?"

"That's Cornello!" The man exclaimed. Cornello? Familiar...Oh, yeah, Nik and I were on a mission here a few months ago, when a suspicious death occured. Unfortunatly, we couldn't find the cause. I was furious, not being able to do something. I made Nik stay until Roy called troops out to bring us back (Me, kicking and screaming), even though I knew it was probaly I simple murder. Everyone was talking about this Cornello guy.

"Hm? Who's that?" Al and Ed asked at the same time.

"What? You don't know who Cornello is?"

"No, I don't see what's so great about him," Edward said bluntly. A random man who I'd seen walking towards us a few moments ago suddenly told us that Cornello could create 'miracles'.

"Miracles my ass," I muttered. Luckily, no one heard, as more men were coming and talking about Cornello.

"Ah! I just remembered, we gotta be somewhere." We stood, Al's head accidentally knocking down the man's radio. The man groaned as the poor radio broke into bits.

"Ah, look what you've done!" Al blushed in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry sir!" The man was about to say more, but I butted in, shutting him up.

"Hey, leave him alone, jerk. Besides, haven't you ever heard of Alchemy?"

"I'm sorry, I'll fix it," AL told him, bending down.

A few minutes later, Al had drawn a perfect Transmutation Circle, and put the radio in front of it. He eventually fixed it, making everyone gasp in awe. I suddenly got bored, and decided to go rent a hotel room. Edward then began explaining Alchemy, and how he and Al were the Elric brothers.

"Elric Brothers?" A man said. I even cocked an eyebrow.

"Ha, you must be pretty unknown, I didn't even know you guys were the 'Elric Brothers', I've never even heard of them!" I chuckled, making Ed gasp.

"What? Your working with us, and you don't even know who we are?" I nodded.

"Yeah..You're Edward, and that's Alphonse," I muttered, pointing to them. Edward sighed.

"Well, I'm going-" I was suddenly cut off by a women covered in a brown cloak.

"That's Edward Elric; the FullMetal Alchemist. He's pretty popular around town. They say he's a real 'Child' prodigy," I heard Nik snort. I stared at the female, right in the eyes. She looked right back, smirking. Homunculi, something in my gut told me. But, I've learned not to always trust my gut, since it's been stabbed and wounded so many times. Ed chuckled, not noticing that the men all thought that Al was the 'Prodigy'. But when he did, let's just say we pretended not to notice a body flung next to us. I suddenly heard a high-pitched giggle, and whipped my head to see who it was. It was just a woman, in her early twenties probably, with pink bangs and brown hair. I quickly looked at her soul, to make sure she had no bad intentions. Her soul was a smiling light pink one, but I noticed that it had a small crack in it. She had obviously suffered a loss. We introduced ourselves.

"I'm Alphonse Elric, the younger brother, nice to meet you!" Al told her politely.

"And I'm Edward Elric, older brother," he said haughtily.

"Shouldn't it be the other way around, though?" She asked innocently, making me smirk. It felt as if I had known these two for ages. Too bad, though. I'd probably be shipped off somewhere else after this mission. The lady looked at me expectantly. My eyes widened.

"Makenzie Buhart," I exclaimed, grinning. The woman, Rose, smiled at me.

"Hey, Rose, they say they're trying to look for something. Maybe Cornello could help them, y'know, have them ask for God's grace!" I mentally groaned. I'd stopped believing in 'God' ever since my family was...killed.

"Ah, that's-" Al started.

"It's alright! Besides, Cornello has rooms for guests, too!"

"We'd like that, thank you!" I told her before Ed could.

"Hey! I was gonna say that!" Edward exclaimed. I simply stuck my tongue out at him, ducking so that he couldn't grab me.

A few minutes later, we were walking towards this 'Cornello's' place, with Rose. Ed and Al began talking about that lady at the shop, which I ignored, talking to Nik instead (He'd followed us). I putmy hand on the wall, feeling for any traces of Kishin. Luckily, I felt none, but kept my hand against the walls, just in case.

"Hey, Rose," I said.

"Yes?"

"Do you think that, if Ed prayed hard enough, 'Cornello' will make him taller?" She giggled as Edward chased me around, trying to get me. I neared Al and quickly jumped on his head, out of Edwards reach.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing? Get down here and take it!" Ed yelled, making me shake my head.

"Nope. Al's nice."

"Hey!"

-2 Hours later...4:00PM,,,,,,,,,,,,Azalea's POZ-

Rose had taken us to our hotel room, and eventually left. Nik and I were in one room, while Ed and Al were in a different room. After she'd left, Nik decided to patrol while I went into the two brother's room. It was somewhat gloomy in there Ed sitting in a chair, me leaning on the window sill, and Al just standing there. I was watching Rose, who we could see mourning over a gravestone. So _this _was this loss Rose suffered. I frowned.

"I spoke to Rose. The gravestone she's by is her boyfriend's. Her parent died when she was young, and she believes Cornello can bring him back," Al told us. My eyes widened. They weren't going to perform Human Transmutation, were they? I sighed through my nose, standing to leave; I'd heard enough.

"Where're you going, Kenzie?" He had already had a nickname for me? I didn't know why that made me happy, even though Makenzie wasn't my real name.

"Out." Death made me depressed, and anyways, Nik and I had a mission to complete.

"Well, Rose invited us to go see one of Cornello's 'Miracles', just to let you know."

"I might be there," I told him, shrugging and walking out the door. As soon as the door was closed, I closed my eyes and contacted Zale. _Hey, do you know where Nik is?_

**_Uh...Oh, found him! Right around the corner! _**I cocked my eyebrow. Just then, Nikolai came walking quickly down the hallway, breathing heavily. My eyes widened, for the third time that day.

"F-Found them," he told me, bending over to catch his breath. I ran into our bedroom and grabbed a waterbottle. A ran back and tossed it to Nik, who gulped down. I then turned and opened Ed and Al's door, peeking my head in.

"Scratch that. I won't back for...a while," I stopped. "Don't worry, I'll be back soon!" I exclaimed, giving them a hearty smile. But as soon as I stepped out, I looked at Nik, determination gleaming in my eyes. We then ran downstairs, and I stopped at the front desk. The clerk was an older man, who was half-bald. I handed him Roy's number.

"If we're not back by seven PM, call this number immediately. Tell him that Azalea Albarn and Nikolai Nakatsukasa are in danger. Oh, and, let's keep this confidential," I muttered, slipping him an one-hundred dollar bill. He nodded, and we slipped out.

"So, you ready to kill some Kishin?" Nik asked.

"Hell yeah."

**DONE! :3**

**Oh, guys! Do you know what Wattpad is? Well, it's a website. :D Aaaand I have an account: Multipandabears.**

**So, remember the Author's Note last chapter? Turns out a had a few more Chapters in Wattpad, and so I'll be uploading them here!**

**I hope you like it! Oh, and reviews are aaaaaalways appreciated!**

** -Multipandabears**


	6. The Puppeteer Alchemist - Chapter 5

**The Puppeteer Alchemist-Chapter 5~ Get ready for the Epicness.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own neither of the two anime/manga shown here!~~ :D**

-4:30 PM,,,,,,,,,,Azalea's POV-

**_That away! Azalea, no, _****that ****_way! Ugh, you're hopeless._**

"Be quiet, Zale! I can sense them too, you know!" I exclaimed, weaving in and out of the towns citizens, all of which were going to see Cornello's 'Wonders'. Nik was right behind me. I ran into an alleyway, breathing heavily. Nik and I looked around cautiously, our mouths glued shut. We were at a dead end; this was where the Kishin's trail had ended. That's when I realized.

"_Jump!_" I hollered, causing Nik to hastily grab me (In mid-jump) and use Alchemy to jump onto a stack of steel crates. A moment later, four or five Kishin literally _flung _themselves out of the ground and in front of us. I jumped down, right after Nik transformed into his main Death Weapon form: his Scythe. It gleamed in the sunlight, the tip of the blade nearly hitting the ground. But it didn't bother me, it wasn't even that heavy. They circled me, but every time they tried to come near, I swung Nik at them, causing them to jump back. They were smart, and I was surprised that they weren't attacking each other, instead of me. I quickly whipped my hand out, throwing a wave of my Soul Wavelength at one Kishin, causing it to disintegrate, leaving its Soul behind. This caused a small commotion between them, and I took that time to throw Nik as high into the air as possible, using my Puppeteer Alchemy to summon a few copies of Nik (In his Death Weapon form) and I. This made me accidentally drop my disguise, revealing my white hair and olive-green eyes. I mentally cursed. It's not everyday you see a random chick with white hair, with a giant scythe, killing some monsters in an alleyway. Yeah. While I was momentarily caught off guard, one Kishin, probably the boss, threw a small switchblade at me, nailing me right in the shoulder. I yelped in pain, my Black Blood quickly throwing the knife back at it, and sucking all the blood that had splattered onto the floor back into the wound. I growled in pain, suddenly realizing that my wound wasn't healing. I ran towards two of the Kishin, the Puppet going after another one. I swung my sword at one, somehow hitting it on the neck. It, too, disintegrated, its Soul floating behind me. The other one was feisty, and smart. When I tried to hit it with the butt of Nik's Scythe, it dodged. The second time, it blocked it with a clawed hand. I felt a Puppet die, as well as a Kishin. Yes, my Puppets would sacrifice themselves for me. I sighed through my nose as I let one hand go of the Scythe, bringing it up to use my Soul Wavelength on it, cutting it's hand off. It screeched, flinging itself at me, hitting me in the stomach with its shoulder. The impact mad me almost let go of Nik, my body thrown against a nearby wall. How did no one see me?

"B-Bastard.." I mumbled at it, noticing another coming towards me. The Kishin that had just come slashed it's arm towards me, but I countered by speedily transforming my leg into my Death Weapon (also a Scythe), and slicing his body in half with it. It growled in pain before disappearing, it's Soul just sitting there. I glared at the last remaining Kishin, transforming my leg back to normal. I side-stepped it's next attack: a kick to the face. I was lucky it didn't hit me. I attempted to hit its legs, but he jumped away.

"My God, just-" I was cut off by something, something that had punched me in the back, causing me to fall to my knees. I rolled away quickly, not wanting to get hurt again by this mystery person. I glanced at it as I jumped to my feet. Another Kishin. One lunged at me, but I hastily dodged it.

About thirty minutes later, I was breathing heavily, my shirt drenched in sweat. It was no use; they were good. That when I decided. Soul Resonance.

"N-Nik. We..We're going to Soul Resonance!" I thought to him. I saw a mental vision of him nodding. I closed my eyes, thinking that the Kishin might attack me. They didn't. I clenched Nik's handle in my hand, concentrating. I soon saw our Souls. I wasn't afraid of doing this, I was afraid of what would happen. I had mastered this ability, of course, and I knew that, probably the whole city would see this little stunt. But at this moment, it was our lives, or theirs. I chose ours. At that moment, I felt our Souls nearing each other, causing us both to roar in determination. I wasn't going to lose.

"This is for my Mother, and our hatred for _**you!**__"_ At that moment, everything changed. Nik's blade was huge, and nearly wrapped around me. I was using Mothers Soul Resonance, for I was terrified to use my own. I raised Nik high above my head, my usually olive-green eyes now a bright emerald.

"Soul Resonance: Witch Hunter! _Die!"_ I heard Zale giggle, as her power also combined with ours. I swung the blade at the Kishin as my vision went white from the light, and I nearly dropped to my knees after the smoke cleared. Everything around me was destroyed, there was no alleyway there anymore. Or a street. Just debris and six bloody red Souls. We were incredibly lucky that everyone was out seeing Cornello's little stunts. Nik transformed back, before trotting over to the Souls, gulping down three of them as if nothing was wrong. I was sweating and breathing heavily. Nik grabbed the three remaining Souls and tossed them to me. I easily caught them, ate them (I'm a Death Weapon too, you know), and felt a bit better.

"Hey, Nik?" I asked, slightly drowsy.

"Yeah?"

"You're going to have to carry me to the Hotel." And then, I collapsed.

-A few Hours Later,,,,,,,,,,,,,8:30PM-Azalea's POV-

I groaned softly, awakened by a wet cloth being placed on my head. My eyes whipped open as soon as my mind registered what was happening, ready for a fight.

"Woah there, Kenzie!" A males voice yelped, coming from my side. It was Edward. I breathed a sigh of relief, sitting up and causing the rag to fall off of my forehead.

"Sorry, Edward." I smiled up at him. He nodded, adverting his eyes.

"Yeah."

"Uhm. Why did you put a rag over my head, if I wasn't sick?" I asked Edward. He shrugged.

"I wanted to wake you up." I glared at him.

"You..You Meanie! I was sleeping so happil-" I was cut off by a sudden realization. _Two _realizations. One: Nik was gone. And two: I was in my room- with Edward. Alone. I mentally screetched. I was going to run away, blushing, but instead, asked him where Nik was.

"That Bastard? (Me: Hey!) I dunno. He said he'd be out for a while. He just brought you to me and left. What happened, anyways?" Ed asked, a suspicious tone in his slightly deep voice. My eyes widened slightly. I quickly thought of an excuse.

"Uhm..Well, Nik and I were on our way to What's-His-Face's ceremony thing, but we were freaking _trampled _by a crowd of random people." I told him, mentally sighing in relief. **What a sucky excuse. It made us sound so weak! If Roy heard, he would easily see through it. Jeeze. So much for our training. **Zale scolded me. I didn't mean to make a bad excuse. I just couldn't do it; Ed was so nice. He would probably hate me if he found out the truth. I had to..I had to tell him the truth.

"Hey..Ed? I have to tell you something." I muttered, avoiding my eyes. Edward looked at me curiously.

"Yeah?"

"Um. Well..I'm-" The door suddenly slammed open. Standing there, was Nik, with a bag of what looked to be sweets.

"What she means to tell you is that she brought you some candy," he told him. I mentally gasped. And sighed. I was in for a Mega-Lecture. As Ed smiled and jumped up, he glared at me from the corner of his eyes. He torn his eyes away from me, when Ed slung his arm around Nik's shoulders, (With some difficulty- Nik was two whole heads taller than Ed.) grinning happily. Nik's eyes widened as he looked down at the male, quite surprised. I, myself, smiled gleefully. Nik and I hadn't had any friends since..a long time ago. In fact, I can't remember if we ever had any friends. Our lives were only about Kishin and revenge. Especially Nik. But I knew, that Nik and I would eventually lossen up to the two men. Hopefully.

"A-Hah! You're aren't a Bastard anymore! Hah, I bet we could be buddies, ya know?" Edward told him, beaming brightly. Nik scoffed and turned away. And although Ed couldn't see it, Nik was smiling softly. I grinned and stood as well, chuckling sheepishly. Nik's head snapped to me, a glare now adorning his features.

"N-Nice Nik..Nice boy." I muttered, running to the door. Nik threw the bag of candies to Ed, then ran towards me. (Ed quickly opened the bag, only to see that it was full of trash and rubble; which put Nik back to the name of 'Bastard'.) I opened the door and slammed it behind me, before running into the nearest, and hiding under the covers. I heard a voice yelp. I peeked my head out from under the covers curiously. It was Al. I put my finger to my lips, signaling him to be quiet. He nodded, still shocked. Soon after, Al's door was..well flung off it's hinges, making an imprint on the wall across its original spot. Nik was at my hiding spot in a moment, narrowing his eyes at me. I smiled nervously, waving at him.

"H-Hi?" He didn't even blink. He just stomped to me, grabbed my arm, and, flinging me over his shoulders, waved to Al and walked out of the door.


	7. The Puppeteer Alchemist - Chapter 6

**Enjoy! :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own either of the anime/manga shown here!**

Azalea's POV::

"Nikolai.." I muttered as he dragged me outside. His glare was intense, and by the look of his soul, he was _not _happy. We were in another alleyway, my back being against a wall, the very wall of the hotel. The sun had set, and the only thing that allowed me to see was the flickering candle lights in the windows, and the few street lamps that struggled to illuminate the streets. I gulped, knowing that I was going to get a severe lecture.

"Anata wa orokadesu ka? Tsutsuji wa, anata wa subete o dainashi ni suru koto mo dekimasu! Anata mo sugu ni korera futatsu no baka no yo ni atatamete kita! Watashi wa imi suru koto ni shiyou to shite inaishite imasuga, kore wa hontoni anata no yona mono to wa chigaimasu. Kore wa ninmude wa naku, kyukadesu. Anata ga misshon de fuchuidatta saigo no jikan o nani ga okotta no ka oboeteinai ka..?" (Are you stupid? Azalea, you could have ruined everything! You have warmed up to those two idiots way too soon. I am not trying to be mean, but this really isn't like you. This is a mission, not a vacation. Don't you remember what happened last time you were careless on a mission..?) I adverted my gaze, now looking at my now interesting bare feet. Or, foot. Nik was talking about that one time, six months ago.

I had just gotten a new lead of a Kishins whereabouts. Nik and I had to go to Risembool to find them. To put it simply, as we were there, I met a little girl, by the name of Lizzie. She looked so much like Aunt Liz..But she didn't act like her. Sweet, kind, adorable Lizzie. Somehow, she got caught up with the Kishins. They kidnapped her. When I found out, I was in such a flurry of rage, and as soon as we found the Kishin's, I put myself before everyone, and used my Resonance. I..I killed Lizzie. And it was all my fault. That was the first and only time that I failed to remember my only rule: I'm a tool, so it doesn't matter if I am to die.

Clenching my fists as a flurry of emotions overwhelmed me, I whipped my chin up, olive-green hues shining with determination.

"Nikorai..Watashi no yujin o bujoku shinaide kudasai! Watashi wa chodo sorera ni attaga, karera wa watashi ni totte kichodeari, watashi wa karera o shinrai! Kono misshon wa seiko ni naru, to watashi wa rain de jibun o tmaotsu tame ni, watashi no ketten o oboete irudarou. Shinpaishinaide, watashi wa jibun jishin ni kono-jikan o atsukau koto ga dekimasu. Watashi wa futatabi okoru koto semasen." (Nikolai..Please do not insult my friends! Although I just met them, they are dear to me, and I trust them! This mission will be a success, and I will remember my faults, to keep myself in line. Do not worry, I can handle myself this time. I will not let _that _happen again.)

Nikolai stared straight at me, almost as if he was reading my mind. Acting unfazed, I stared right back at him, with just as much intensity. Finally, after I few moments, Nik sighed, running a thin yet muscular hand through his locks. I grinned, before folding my arms over my chest, satisfied.

"Hah! Looks like Azalea wins again!" I exclaimed as I threw my head back, laughing at the wind. Looking back at Nik, I saw that he had began walking away towards the hotel, chuckling at my antics. Huffing, I ran to catch up with him, for his long legs made him walk faster than I. Slapping him playfully on the back when I reached him, I glanced back towards the alley. Shifting my gaze up to the second floor, I saw a window slam shut.

It was Ed and Al's bedroom window.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

It was nighttime. In a hurried curiosity and fear, I rushed to Al and Ed's room. Edward was sound asleep on a bed on the right side of the room. Nik and I had parted ways a few minutes ago, and I had come to see if our conversation was heard. It took me a moment to notice Al. He was so concentrated on a book, he didn't notice me.

The book was titled: 'World Languages'.

I stifled a gasp with closed lips. Japanese wasn't known in this world. Al looked up. His eyes widening, he got straight to the point.

"Which language were you speaking out there, Makenzie?" He said it more as a command rather than a question, and with his innocent tone, I couldn't take him seriously.

"English."

"You know what I mean," he said, all sense of innocence leaving his voice.

"Japanese. J-A-P-A-N-E-S-E. It's not in your book," a shocked haze spread over Al's soul. I was watching his bright blue soul intently, since I couldn't tell what he was feeling otherwise, due to obvious reasons.

"Why not?"

"'Cause Nik and I made it up."

"There's no way you could make up such a complex language by yourselves," he stated. I sighed, before stepping forward to grab hold of his metallic arm. Practically dragging him out of his room and into mine, I quietly shut the door behind us.

"Fine. If you want to know so badly, then I'll tell you. But you have to swear to not tell anyone else, not even Ed," I whispered hastily. The palms of my hands were sweaty, and I was scared to tell someone...well, _everything. _But I trusted Al, and I needed to get it off my chest. I hated hiding things.

"First off, Makenzie isn't my real name," I muttered, almost guiltily. Al gasped. "Don't say anything 'til I'm done, 'kay?" He nodded. That's when I broke. I told him absolutely everything, leaving out some big parts. I left out my family and everything about Meisters and Weapons, to be exact. Heck, the only thing I really told him was my real name and how I was an assassin. Oh, and about Spirit, my huge cat. His soul nearly exploded (Not literally) when I told him my real name. Shock and realization coursed through his soul. Had he known me? I wouldn't know, since I knew that I had lost some of my memories after the accident. When he asked me why I was on this mission with him, I shrugged.

"You **cannot **tell **anyone **about this conversation, okay? I'll get in so much trouble by Roy if he hears that I told you," I said. Al nodded stiffly, too surprised for words. Now I was certain that we had been close before. "Do you know me? I mean.. did you know me? I lost some memories after an accident happened that caused me to lose this leg."

"No," Al whispered, although I could hear the falseness in his voice. "...I didn't."

**OOOH. WAS THAT A CLIFFY I JUST SAW? I DO BELIEVE SO.**


	8. The Puppeteer Alchemist - Chapter 7

Azalea's POV._

**_"_****AZALEA!**_**"**_

_****_But I couldn't hear him. Those.. Those _things _were everywhere, grunting, laughing, waiting. Waiting for me to make a move; they thought I was nothing to those bastards.

_ Estimated twenty minutes before::

It was a day or so after I sortof-kinda blabbered to Al. He hadn't talked to me much, I was sure he was hiding things from me. He and Ed had left the night before, having yet to return. I was uneasy, but Nik, however, seemed the happiest I've seen him since we begun the mission. I adverted my gaze as he grinned at the window.

"Seems like Mr. King has been found out."

"Who?" My attention was brought to Nik, and the main square of the _town,_ which was only a blur of colors to my eyes, probably the citizens. Nik constantly brought his senses up with his Muscle Alchemy.

'_Wait.. What's that?' _I squinted. There, in the middle of the square, and _moving_, was what looked to be a giant statue. And moving. Nik busted out laughing, while my expression remained blank.

"Dafuq."

I deadpanned, rolling my eyes although a smile remained on my lips. Moments later we were both outside of the hotel, walking to where the sounds of chaos sounded. The sun heated the back of my neck almost painfully, making me sigh, before turning a corner and slipped into the cool shadows of an alleyway, connected to other shaded spaces. I nodded to myself, knowing that Nik was behind me.

"Muuuuuch better, yo."

"Yup."

I laughed, before heading off again.

"O-Oi! Wait up!" Nik exclaimed, running after. But I was faster, and easily disappeared from his sight. How stupid of me. I didn't see them. I couldn't sense them. I didn't even hear their disgusting grunts and groans, their hisses that smelt of death. They were already in my peripheral when they attacked, leaving me with a mild gash in my left arm.

I gasped, forcing my body into a backflip, barely dodging a fatal slash of a fleshy claw. I took a few steps back to assess the attacked. **'Kishin. Hurry up and kill them."**

"Tch! You could've said something!" Hunched over, I placed my hand over my shoulder, the arm connected to it flashing white for only a moment, before I was met with another attack, escaping with only a small cut on my cheek by dropping to the ground and rolling out-of-the-way. Now equipped with a black and silver blade instead of a right arm, and jumped to my feet.

**"Eh? ****_You're _****the awesome quality, 'I'll castrate you with a rusty spoon' assassin!" **I ignored her, now glaring daggers at the _things_ that were possibly the cause of my family's death. My blood burned with rage, an ache to kill.

And that's when Nik turned a corner leading into the alleyway where I, and several other Kishin, stood. His arm was curled into his own blade, having hastily killed the closest Kishin. His blade extended much past his real arm length, by a good seven or eight inches. His eyes widened as he took in my.. predicament.

**_"_****AZALEA!**_**"**_

But I couldn't hear him. Those.. Those _things _were everywhere, grunting, laughing, waiting. Waiting for me to make a move; they thought I was nothing to those bastards. How wrong I would prove them.

There were about nine or ten of them. Perfect. We already destroyed six a few days ago, and so these were probably the last of them. But none of that registered in my mind then. All I wanted was to _destroy _them.

Arm poised and ready, I nodded at Nik, signaling him to help.

I made eye contact with my first soon-to-be victim. And I charged, arm raised to strike.

My blade clashed with the Kishin's claws. Grunting, I leaned forward, putting more weight into it. Before long, I side stepped, his abnormally large hand striking the ground and creating a small crater into the ground where I used to be.

Nik, however, was just finishing up his work on the smallest (though still pretty freaking huge) Kishin, his blade jutting from its back. It fell, leaving only a single red soul. My attention was ripped away from him as the same Kishin jumped at me, both hands extended to rip me apart. Cussing under my breath, I narrowly dodged. Transforming my arm back to normal, I clapped my hands together and slapped the to a conveniently placed, run-down building, made of what appeared to be steel. Said steel stripped itself from the building, molding into a good 20-30 perfect replicas of myself, their arms morphed into blades. Blinking simultaneously, they awaited my orders.

"Kill the Kishin!"

And kill the Kishin they did. Within minutes, they were gone, relieving me and Nik of a good six Kishin. A shaky sigh left me. My arm was still bleeding, but not as heavily as before; I hadn't used it at all during the fight. Running towards Nik, I shouted,

"transform!" He nodded, his legs bent slightly as he propelled himself up, morphing into his scythe form mid-air. I ran to meet him, twirling the weapon in my hands, ungloved, as to slow him down.

**"Two left. Behind you!" **Reflexes controlling my limbs, I jumped forward, twirling around midair, only to come face-to-face with one of the biggest Kishin I've even seen. I blindly swung Nik, the purple crescents from years past accumulating and attacking the Kishin head on. Both of us were flung back from the force, the Kishin dazed, having fallen.

The unknowing Kishin, planning out a surprise attack, was taken out by a blade to its chest.

The last one was waiting.

_ Edward's POV.

"He was pulling my tail the_ entire_ time!" I cussed under my breath, leaning against a stone wall. Al was seated beside me, quiet.

A nearby patch of clear-blue sky illuminated purple for just a moment, catching the attention of both of us. Only I was to me feet faster. Al was soon to follow, however, as we cautiously moved to where we assumed the sky had glowed purple. My eyebrow furrowed in frustrated curiosity. _'What the hell could that be, anyways? Damn.. It can't be Cornello.. All the citizens I know of are still at the square.'_

"I really hate this place," I muttered.

Azalea's POV_

The last Kishin appeared almost out of nowhere. I threw Nik up to block his attack: A pointy set of teeth with a jaw that opened a bit too far. Okay, a lot. I heard Nik groan in disgust at being shoved into a Kishin's mouth. A channeled my soul wavelength into the blade, shocking the Kishin and sending him flying, myself running after him.

He was up before I reached him, Nik's blade clashing against his teeth.

This continued for a few minutes.

**"..Damn. Azalea, hurry up! A certain set of brothers are headed this way. A few roads down," **Zale exclaimed, her voiced rushed. **"Finish it off already!"**

"I know, I know!"

Arching my back into a flip headed towards the damn thing, I positioned Nik to hit him head on, but alas, I only caught his arm, sending it screeching and wailing like a baby.

"Screw it! Nik! Resonance!"

A mental image of a nodding Nik infiltrated my mind. Grunting as our soul wavelengths neared each other, I swung Nik back, preparing a strike.

"Soul Resonance! Witch Hunter! _Die!"_

Nik's blade grew, extending and curling around my body. I took a step back, stancing, before my arms thrusted forward just as I jumped forward, a white flash illuminating the alleyway and moat likely the entire city.

Of course, the Kishin was killed. Nik reverted to normal, and I relayed to him what Zale told me. He cursed, gobbling up his share of souls, and me, mine.

"Zale, how close are-"

**"Get ****_out _****of there!"**

"Sheesh," I muttered under my breath, disappearing around a corner just as I came, leaving the alleyway just as I came, Nik in tow.

"Mission accomplished~"

_Edward's POV.

"There's nothing here.." I groaned. "It was probably just Alchemy." Al and I stood at the foot of the alleyway, gazing upon a wreck of a building. All that was left of it was the steel "skeleton", what held it in place. Lumps of other steel lay scattered everywhere; there were craters and dents in both the floor and other buildings.

"You're just trying to reason everything again, brother.." Al muttered under his breath. I scowled.

"W-Whatever! Let's go pick up Kenzie and her brother so we can get outta this place," Al snickered, and I resisted the urge to glare at him.

-TIMESKIP TO HOTEL-

"Th-They're gone.." Al voice penetrated my thoughts. Kenzie was missing. I didn't care much for her brother, but I was still shook up. I wasn't sure if it was worry, or fear that Colonel Idiot would have my head for this for sure.

"L-Let's call Colonel Mustang.."

"N-No! He'll kill me, Al!"

"But what if Kenzie's hurt?" I froze.

"Tch. Then you call him!"

"Fine, I will!" He left the room, and I was left to my thoughts. '_Their stuff is gone.. Their room was returned. They must've left! But why? Tch.." _Kenzie was really getting my head in a jumble.

Third Person POV_

Azalea and Nik had made a quick trip to the hotel, to grab their things and return the room. Now they were making a speedy trip back to Amestris, by way of flying skate-thingies. Azalea's injured arm was wrapped snugly in gauze, and a band-aid was fixed on her cheek. Both of them were carrying their own luggage.

"I feel bad for just leaving.." The girl murmured, her voice barely audible over the hum of their skates. Of course Nik caught it.

"Why? Colonel's orders."

"I know.. It's just, they're friends of mine. What if they worry?"

"You can call them when we get back."

"Oh." The conversation ended with Azalea snorting.

Edward's POV_

"He said not to worry." Al reentered the room a few minutes later. I scowled.

"So she _did _just up and leave!" I grumbled.

"Screw that. I'm hungry."


	9. The Puppeteer Alchemist - Chapter 8

**HEEEEEY. So! I messed up. xD Turns out that Eddie-boy doesn't become a State Alchemist until episode 6. So I'm pretending he was already a State Alchemist when Azalea met him, and therefore, am removing the State Alchemy exam from the story. ..**

**New chapter? HAHA, IT IS. I really don't know where this is going as of now. Just bear with me! Oh, and I've recently gained an obsession with Kuroshitsuji, or Black Butler. Soooo I might just make another story! xD Anyways, on with ze story. I DO NOT OWN, NUTHHING. **

**_ Idontevenknow POV.**

12:00 PM._ Waaaaay _too early to get up. Or, at least to Azalea. An agitated Nikolai repeatedly prodded at her form, which was effectively cocooned in every blanket she had. And therefore, she didn't stir.

Well, until Nikki-boy flipped the mattress, slamming both it and a defenseless Azalea into the wall with such force that a crack jutted all the way from the cream-colored carpet, to the ceiling.

What a perfect day to start a _great _day!

"FREAKING PICKLE-MINTS I HAAAATE YOU. I WILL EAT YOUR KNEEEECAPS!"

_Yep. _This day will be so much fun.

...

It had been about a week since the pair fled Lior. Today, the Elric Brothers would return to Central. And inevitably, Azalea would be forced to feel his wrath, as Nikolai decided to make her to meet them at the town's train station. _Great._

__Luckily, the two arrived on time, even though Roy had left a bit before them, seeing as Azalea had chased Nikolai while biting at his knees, and they also had to get ready and put on those stupid disguises. But they arrived nevertheless, neither of them too shocked to see a couple of rope-bound men being hustled out of the only train there. Azalea sighed, her gaze catching a small "battle" between Roy and another, burly yet incredibly ugly man. She knew that his kneecaps wouldn't be nearly as tasty as Nik's. The duel lasted about twenty seconds, with Mr. Flame Pony being the winner by setting the man on fire.

Azalea snorted, being only a few yards away by now, "You always go too far, Musty!" It was true. Roy Mustang had snapped at her a few times in the past. Pun-pun. Nikolai must've caught eye of the Elrics, as he made an annoyed sound at the back of his throat. Roy went on to give a weird introduction to the probably half-dead man.

**Azalea's POV:: **

Al must've noticed us first, as his red eyes moved to us. I imagined a grin on that metallic face of his. I remember had wondered how, if he was the younger of the two brothers, then, how he got so tall. But then, the first time I heard him take a step, it was obvious by the hollow sound. There really wasn't anything in there. But I'm not one to judge.

Alphonse looked a bit nervous to be talking to me. It probably had something to do with our last conversation. He _had _ to have known me somehow! My eyebrow twitched slightly, I resisted the urge to bite my lower lip. Meanwhile, Ed was throwing a fit at Roy, too oblivious to notice us.

"Hey, Al! It's been a while. Roy over there asked us to hurry back before you guys. I guess he thought you could handle it." Lie. I inwardly sighed. I hadn't mentioned anything to him about Kishin or _what _I assassinated.

He seemed to loosen up a little, "H-Hello _Mackenzie, _Hello Leon. Yeah, Brother and I took care of it, and some other things." He gestured to the unconscious men. I flinched at the hidden meaning in his words, curiosity piqued when he glanced suspiciously yet somehow relieved-ly at Nik. _Did Al know him, too? Were we friends before, in Resembool? _

__Edward must've noticed us then. His temper must've not lowered yet, either.

"YOU! YOU JUST LEFT US!"

"Sorr-"

"NO! HAHA, NONO. NOOO FORGIVENESS. YOU MUST THINK I'M LIKE A LITTLE ANT, SO TINY THAT IT COULD FALL THROUGH THE GROUND WITHOUT EVEN DIGGING!"

"That's not-" I sighed as his rant continued. Nik looked ready to stab someone in the kneecaps. We ignored him, then, however, we I caught pieces of his rant. It went a bit like, "ASDFGHJKL. MINT BUNNIEEEEEEEEEES ARE UGLY THAT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE SENSE, YO. IM EVEN A RAPPER NOW. JEALOUS? HA, YOU'RE JEALOUS. JELLY BELLY? I BELIEVE SO. BIATCH."

"So, wanna go catch some lunch?"

...

Roy called us to his office after our lunch break, a certain Elric brother draining mine and Nik's wallets. Despicable.

Apparently, he was assigning them another mission: to supervise Shou Tucker during his re-evaluation, a State Alchemist famous for making Chimeras, his best creation being a Chimera that spoke English.

I droned out.

Of course I did. And instead I thought about hot sexy Roy would look like in a miniskirt.

We left a few minutes later, Mr. Flame-face driving us to Shou's house. _Why did I come along, again? _

_ **Timeskip Edward POV.**

_Dafuq. Is it even legal to own a house this big?! _

We all climbed out of the car, the four of us gaping at the size of the house - no, _mansion._ I stepped forward, ready to steal their grass and sell it. But, that idea was cut short by A FUCKING HUGE, FURRY BEAST landing smack-dab on my face. I fell to the ground immediately. I heard several snickers and giggles around me, Nikolai's standing out the most. Oooh, I was two seconds away from beating him.

Pushing the dog off of me, I stood, dusting my pants just as two people stepped forward. The younger of the two, a small girl, scolded the dog. The man, Shou, I guessed, apologised. My peripheral vision noticed Mackenzie stiffen, shoulders raised like an offended cat. She was so odd. Something must've been up, but I dismissed it.

Mr. Tucker allowed us inside, his house a mess. He apologised for that, too.

"Wow. Big brother's clothes are funny.." The girl, Nina, mused, pulling at Al's glove. I cringed unnoticeably, looking away. Al came up with an excuse, luckily, causing me to sigh in relief.

_Now that I think about it.. Neither Makenzie nor Nikolai have asked about Al's "form", nor did have they ever seemed the slightest bit uncomfortable. I'm glad for that. _

Mr. Stick-up-my-butt turned to Shou, who was staring rather obviously at Al, "You'll have time to discuss their natures at a later hour. Until you so, just accept them," he turned to Mackenzie and Nikolai, who were oddly silent, "And you two, go back to my office. I'll meet with you later to discuss your next mission." They nodded stiffly, turning and disappearing out the door, along with Nina, who went to play outside. Shou continued talking, and yet I didn't hear him; my mind was distracted.

_Another mission? How long will they be gone? Tch! Why do I care?! _

"Brother? Mr. Tucker's talking to you.."

"E-Eh? Oh!"

Roy sighed.

_ **Azalea POV.**

I watched Nina's braids bounce as she led us outside, a small smile brushing my lips.

_Kawaii~ Hehe. _

She led Nik and I outside, where Alexander, their dog, lay licking at his paw. She then ran over to him, her hands rubbing at his side, "Aren't cha guys gonna play?" My gaze widened in surprise, before I offered the girl a small smile and took a few steps to reach her, my hand finding its way to her head and ruffling her locks affectionately.

"Maybe some other time, okay? I have'ta go do important business.~" Her eyes widened.

"You promise?"

"I promise. I'll come play games with you aaaaaall day when I get the chance, m'kay?"

"M'kay," Nina replied and I stood, smiling down at her. Turning, I began to walk away, barely reaching the gate before she continued, "Bye-Bye Big Sisser! You too, Big Brother Number Two!" I replied with a wave, smiling widely.

Nik, however, was surprised; he must've not expected Nina to speak to him. He replied with a nod, a smile barely seen on his lips.

Nina really was something, she really was. I immediately thought of her as a younger sister; people like her lit up a room with their presence. Somewhere in the back of my mind I pictured Ed and Al pouting and sulking in the corner, because Nina wasn't in the house anymore.

It was sad that she wouldn't be able to shine as long as we thought.

**AAAANNNNNNNND, FINISHED~ x3 Hope you enjoyed! **

**I've been thinking that Nik hasn't been getting enough attention, so I might make a special chapter, unrelated to the plot, about him. It's gonna be hilarious, I already have I planned out, MUAHAHAHA.**

**See ya next time, baybee~**


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